"We had a nice discussion with coach Wilton this morning," athletic director Hugh Yoshida said. "We addressed the overall direction of the department and he told us he has decided not to accept the position at BYU."
Said Wilton, "The athletic department has made several moves to support our program over the last few years. Right now we are in place to gain a full-time assistant coach's position this summer. The budget has been increased and we have gained recognition with men's volleyball being a revenue sport."
Wilton had interviewed for the assistant's job at BYU last month and had said the job was his for the taking. He has guided the Rainbows to the final four the past two seasons.
As for the remainder of this season, the Rainbows are battling for a playoff spot in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. They take on Loyola Marymount University tonight and tomorrow at the Special Events Arena.
"We've seen most of their matches when they've come to the mainland and my parents send me tapes of home games," said LMU assistant coach Charlie Mattson, a Kamehameha Schools product from Waimanalo. "It's not hard to scout them. We know they like to run a lot of quicks and we worked quite a bit on our blocking during practice.
"Hawaii is a very good sideout team and our biggest concern is being able to stay with them, not letting them take off in a game. We'd like to take them long (to Game 5) and then everything becomes equal."
The Rainbows are 0-2 when they've gone to five games this season. The Lions are 1-3, and haven't won in rally scoring since opening the season with a 3-2 upset of then-No. 4 UC Santa Barbara.
Since the teams are in different divisions, only tonight's match will count in the MPSF standings. But the results from tonight and tomorrow could weigh heavily in the playoff picture, with both Hawaii and Loyola Marymount fighting for their postseason lives.
The Rainbows are fourth in the Pacific Division while the Lions are sixth in the Mountain Division. The top three teams from each division will advance, with the two teams with the next-best records awarded at-large berths.
"We're not out of it yet," Mattson said. "But we can't let the Hawaii crowd become a factor. Most of our guys saw the (Special Events) Arena for the first time today and they were looking around with wide eyes. I told them just to treat it like a regular game, just to play, and not let the crowd become a big deal. We know what to do."
"Loyola is a real dangerous team," Wilton said. "They are still thinking playoffs, although that loss to Pepperdine (3-0 Tuesday) hurt. They have size, they have some weapons, they have some guys who were pretty highly recruited."
Leading the Lions are 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman Corin Bemus (6.5 kpg) and 6-4 sophomore opposite Tim Farmer (6.1 kpg). Senior setter Zane Smythe ranks third nationally in assists.
Who Hawaii (11-7, 6-6 MPSF) vs. Loyola Marymount (5-10, 4-10)