Sept. 7, 2007

FAIRBANKS, AK - Alaska Nanooks women's volleyball will host their intra-state arch-rivals University of Alaska Anchorage Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Patty Center for their 2007 Great Northwest Athletic Conference home opener.

The Nanooks enter the weekend with a 6-2 overall record, including an impressive 4-1 West Region mark, and will look to build on its early season success by getting its first conference win over the Seawolves.

"I expect its going to be a typical UAA-UAF match," Shoemaker said. "We think they're going to be a fiery, very emotional opponent. This will be one of those matches that anything that has happened up to this point in the season doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what happens tomorrow night."

Alaska Anchorage are 4-2 overall and have just one common opponent with the Nanooks in Armstrong Atlantic. The Seawolves have twice defeated the Pirates in five games: the same scoreline that favored the Nanooks when the teams met on Aug. 28.

The all-time series between the teams currently stands at 53-29 in favor of UAA. The Nanooks, however, trail the Seawolves by just one game (20-21) in Fairbanks: a win Saturday night would even it up. Last year, the teams split their two encounters, each winning in four games on their respective home courts. The Nanooks got the last laugh as they closed their 2006 season on a high note with a 3-1 win over the Seawolves on Nov. 4.

"I know they are a completely different team then the one we played last year," Shoemaker said. "We know that they've got three or four players that they go to a lot, and we need to have the ability to stop them, which I think we will. Obviously, it will be intense, but I have high expectations for our team."

While the Nanooks didn't practice on Monday, the team has been preparing hard for the weekend tilt, according to Shoemaker.

"We've had a good week of practice; it certainly has not been easy. We've had a couple of lingering injury situations we've been dealing with but nothing significant. I expect us to be at full strength or close to full strength by tomorrow night, and I expect good solid performances from everybody."

The Nanooks are backing a promotion to "Pack the Patty" for Saturday's match against Anchorage. Free admissions will be given to area youth who are in 8th grade or below as well as all UAF students.

Shoemaker feels a Packed Patty Center would give the Nanooks a distinct advantage for the Anchorage match. "It would be huge to have fans out in big numbers," he said. "Our fans are great and having a sizeable, vocal, enthusiastic crowd on Saturday will certainly make a difference for us."

The UAF Alumni Association and Associated Students (ASUAF) are also set to host a pre-game barbeque on the Patty Center concourse starting at 5:30 p.m. First serve is at 7 p.m.