Ten months ago marked the beginning of the end of Mike Wilton's career as Hawai'i's head volleyball coach.

There were signs. His contract would expire June 30, 2009. He would turn 65 in 2009. Three of his five adult children and their families live on the Mainland.

The deciding factor was the death of his mother. Even at 90, Irene Wilton was in good health.

But on May 29, 2008, while using a crosswalk, she was struck by a car. Five days later, with her two children at her side, she died.

"It brought things into focus a little bit, for sure," Wilton said. "It enhanced the 'I can' factor of retiring."

Soon after, Wilton decided that this would be his last season as a head coach. He notified athletic director Jim Donovan. A few months ago, he filed an application for retirement from the UH system.

"It's been a fabulous, wonderful experience," Wilton said. "It's a challenging job, a hard job, as the successor will quickly find out. But it's a great job. It's a great opportunity to improve and grow and get better."

Wilton said there were basic reasons behind his decision. "First of all, I wanted to," he said. "And, two, I can. Thirty-four years as a head coach, for me, is long enough."

Wilton, who is finishing his 17th season at UH, led the Warriors to rock-star popularity in the 1990s. His hiring coincided with the opening of the Stan Sheriff Center.

Opposite hitter Yuval Katz became the arena's first star. Katz and his teammates drew standing-room-only crowds that, during breaks, were energized by Alan "Rubberband Man" Hackbarth.

In 2002, the Warriors defeated Pepperdine in the NCAA title match. That title — the first national one by a UH men's team — was stripped when it was found that star outside hitter Costas Theocharidis played alongside professionals before enrolling at UH.

This season, Wilton appears to be at peace. He even has found compassion for the driver who hit his mother.

"It was an accident," Wilton said. "I actually feel sorry for the poor woman who ran into her. Can you imagine what that would be like? From all that I could find out, she's a very good woman."

Wilton said he and his sister gave "absolutely no thought to pursuing any type of lawsuit or anything like that."

Instead, Wilton sent the driver a note, expressing the family's forgiveness.

"I hope it helped," Wilton said. "I'm sure it's still hard."

The Warriors, who will not qualify for the postseason for the second consecutive year, close the regular season with matches against USC tonight and tomorrow.

Wilton, who has accepted an assistant's job with the Brigham Young women's team, said he is thinking only of USC.

"I'm pretty good at getting focused on the task at hand, and that's getting our guys ready for USC," he said. "After Saturday night's match, I'll think about everything else."