For one enchanted evening, the Hawai'i volleyball team brought back the noise, brought back the funk.

The greatest hits of the past 17 years — the Rubberband Man's dancing, the frenetic defense, the loud crowd and even louder perimeter hitting — were compiled in the Warriors' 30-32, 33-31, 38-36, 30-27 victory over Southern California last night.

The outcome marked the end of the Warriors' season, the UH careers of three seniors and Mike Wilton's three-decade career as a head coach.

"Thank you for everything you've done," Manoa chancellor Virginia Hinshaw said as she presented a lei and a hug to Wilton.

Wilton's post-match plans?

"To take these leis off," he said, smiling. "And to hug my grandchildren."

Wilton will continue to take care of UH functions through the June 30 expiration of his contract.

"I'm going to keep working," he said. "I signed a contract, and I'm going to work hard until I'm done."

On July 1, he begins his new job as assistant coach for the Brigham Young women's team. Wilton is a high priest in the Mormon church, which administers BYU. Three of his five adult children live on the Mainland.

"This is tough," said his wife, Ku'ulei. "There have been a lot of great matches here, great players. Our family loves the program. We're going to miss it. It's a new chapter in our lives."

But last night's match was more of a reflection. Opposite attacker Joe Strotman slammed a match-high 30 kills on an arm-numbing 63 swings.

"I didn't eat anything," Strotman said of his pre-match preparation. "I wanted to be hungry for the match."

Left-side hitter Joshua Walker hammered 29 kills, including the line shot for the aloha point. Walker often has been criticized for his marginal passing skills. Last night, he tied libero Michael China with a match-high 13 digs.

"We were so hyped up from the start," Walker said. "It was a really long, tough season. We wanted to go out with a bang."

The Warriors found encouragement from fans that formed the way, entertained themselves during timeouts and steered the momentum in the teeter-totter that was the third set.

"This," outside hitter Jim Clar said of the crowd, "was why I came to Hawai'i."

The three seniors — Clar, China and setter Sean Carney — all started. They were on the court for the final point.

Clar is from Rochester, N.Y.. China and Carney are graduates of Hawai'i private schools who attended Lewis University as freshmen. It was an emotional week for Carney, whose father Tom died of cancer Monday night.

"We really wanted to win this one for our seniors," said Strotman, a junior who was raised in Long Beach. "They really mean a lot to me. I learned a lot playing for Wilton. And I really looked up to Sean, Jimbo and Mikey. They really taught me a lot. I'll never forget it."

Middle blocker Steven Grgas said the "energy the fans brought won it for us. When I was at my lowest, they were chanting for me. They fired us up. I was thinking if we keep working hard, it can be like this all the time."

Wilton said: "It was pretty sweet. The guys really played a nice match. It was a pretty nice way to go out."