On Friday, September 4, the women’s volleyball season began – with a whole new ’04 plan. Coach Jody Brown has added a powerful backcourt attack, with junior Kelly Paiva and the upcoming sophomore Janelle Sarauw leading the way.

“We’ve always been frontcourt dominant and our ball control is very strong,” Brown said. “But with a backcourt attack, we look real good. We’ve got a strong squad. Disciplined.”

Coach Brown was nice enough to pull Kelly Paiva from a shadow drill so that she could talk to the . The following is our conversation. As always, in parentheses are my additional comments.

Skippy: What do you think of Team USA’s Women’s Volleyball performance in the Olympics?Kelly: It was good, but Brazil beat them.

Skippy: You were voting for Brazil!Kelly: I voted a little for the U.S., but more for Brazil.(Kelly is a native of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Brazil ended up 4th.)

Skippy: Who’s one of your favorite Brazilian players?Kelly: Erika (Coimbra).

Skippy: What’s one of the things volleyball has given you off the court?Kelly: Education. Being in the U.S. I’ve learned another language and culture.

Skippy: How close is the team?Kelly: Close. We hang out together and we have a great friendship.(Studying is something they have in common. The women’s volleyball team had the highest combined GPA of all FAU athletic teams last year.)

Skippy: What’s your favorite word: Dig, bump, or ace?Kelly: Ace.

Skippy: What’s your favorite drink?Kelly: Orange juice.

Skippy: How do you like Jody Brown as a coach?Kelly: He’s great. He’s a nice person in and out of the court. He helps a lot.

Coach Brown recommends coming out to the Troy State or Jacksonville University home games if you can only make one or two. But tomorrow, September 10, is a big home game against Bethune-Cookman. Also, keep checking in with the FAU athletics homepage at www.fausports.com. For the fans, Coach Brown is trying to work out live Internet feeds of the UCF and Georgia State away games!