It will be trial-by-perspire when the University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team makes its first court appearance in an exhibition match against Thompson Rivers of Canada tonight.

First serve is at 7:05 in the Stan Sheriff Center.

"This is a chance to get some good court time against a quality opponent," said Charlie Wade, who begins his fifth season as the Rainbow Warriors head coach. "We’ll get guys out there and see who does well when the lights come on."

Middle blocker Taylor Averill, opposite attacker Brook Sedore, setter Joby Ramos and libero Kolby Kanetake will start.

Davis Holt, Nick West, Aniefre "Fre" Etim-Thomas and Zach Radner are in contention for the second middle position.

"They’re all working hard, but you can only play two (middles)," Wade said.

Averill was a dominant middle during fall training. A year ago, he was recovering from shoulder surgery and unsure whether he would be used at opposite, middle or even setter. But he lost weight, improved his vertical jump, and hit .440 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches.

Siki Zarkovic and Jace Olsen appear to have the edge at the two left-side positions.

Zarkovic tired at the end of 2013, his first season at UH after moving from Europe, and hit .158 in his final two regular-season matches. He missed a practice this past weekend because of foot blisters, but is otherwise healthy.

"He just needs to get out there," Wade said.

Olsen had an uneven 2013 season after transferring from Penn State and recovering from shoulder surgery. Wade asked Zarkovic to assess Olsen’s play during a late-season match. Zarkovic offered a glowing review. Wade then pointed out Olsen was hitting .000.

Wade noted Olsen was good at "segmenting," vernacular for playing well in other areas to make up for hitting problems.

"If one thing is not going well, Jace is good at plugging away, which is really valuable," Wade said. "Jace has great energy. He’s easy to play alongside."

Olsen, Averill, Ramos and serving specialist Johann Timmer were selected to the captains’ council in team voting. All four began their college careers elsewhere. Averill was at UC Irvine as a freshman, Ramos played two seasons at Pacific, and Timmer was in a sports academy in New Zealand for a semester.

Wade said Etim-Thomas, Sedore, Holt and Zarkovic each received more than six votes.

"Fifteen different guys got votes," Wade said.

Thompson Rivers counters with an experienced team that already has played 12 matches. The WolfPack (8-4), ranked sixth in Canada, are fourth in the 12-team CIS Canada West.

Right-side attacker Brad Gunter is second in the league with 5.20 kills per set. Gunter and Casey Knight have combined for 33 aces.

Jacob Tricarico leads the WolfPack with 1.05 blocks per set.

"They already have wins over Alberta and Calgary, which are two traditional powers in the West," Wade said. "That means they’re a good team. I think they’re bringing a bunch of players who will compete and travel well, and help them prepare for the second half of their season."

The teams meet again at 7 p.m. Saturday.