As hosts of the 2010 Canadian Interuniversity Sports volleyball championship, the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack are guaranteed a spot in the national championship tournament.

But that’s not enough for fifth-year head coach Pat Hennelly, whose squad opens its home schedule this weekend with matches against the University of Regina Cougars tonight and Saturday night.

“We want to earn our spot here,” he said.

“Just like we have before, we want to deserve to be there.”

Despite a setback on the first weekend of the season — two straight-set losses to perennial powerhouse and defending national-champion University of Alberta Golden Bears — the Pack look poised to make some noise in the Canada West.

“I feel good,” Hennelly said. “We started the season playing last year’s best team. If I had to choose, I’d choose that over playing a team that’s trying to claw its way into the standings.

“Really, if you’re going to start out on the road, you might as well start out against someone who, on paper, you’re not supposed to beat,” Hennelly said.

And, with a number of new faces to bolster a solid core of returning players, Hennelly is confident his team will perform well as the season progresses.

“In the time that I’ve been here, we’ve always performed well in the last third of the season,” he said, noting a number of first-year players and transfers are still adjusting to CIS competition.

“I don’t think that will be any different this year.”

One player who is making big adjustments this year is Kevin Tillie, a 6-foot-5 freshman outside hitter from France who played last year in a European professional league.

Tillie played every minute of both matches against Alberta last weekend.

“On the court, there’s some systems in volleyball and we don’t play the same way [in France],” he said. “I don’t do the same things.”

But, Hennelly said, Tillie is adjusting well.

“He’s not your typical first-year player,” the coach said.

“But, he’s still acclimatizing not only to the CIS, but to new culture, new weather.

“We’re starting to see it stabilize now in practice and on the court.”

TRU will begin the season without one of the top players in Canada West, Robin Schoebel, as he recovers from a knee injury.

Hennelly said Schoebel will likely return to the lineup for the second half of the season.