MIAMI – FIU beach volleyball Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett announced on Thursday the addition of one of the most dominating duos in the sport, Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede, as members of the Panthers' staff. Behar will serve as volunteer assistant, while Bede will be the team's volunteer video coordinator.

"I am really excited about our coaching staff," said Buck-Crockett. "With the addition of Adriana and Shelda, they both bring a wealth of knowledge that will certainly benefit our program. The idea of our student-athletes – some with aspirations of being Olympians – having female role models that have been so successful internationally, as world champions and Olympic medalists, working with them daily, will be a tremendous asset."

"Adriana and Shelda," as they are known world-wide, played as a team for 12 years (1995-2007), winning nine medals representing Brazil. The tandem won two Olympic silver medals, in Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004, four medals in the World Championships, including gold in 1999 and 2001, a gold medal and a silver medal in the 1998 and 2001 Goodwill Games, and a gold medal in the 1999 Pan American Games.  
 
During their legendary playing career, the duo won more than 30 international tournaments, in addition to more than 1,000 matches and 114 titles.

Behar and Bede join an FIU program that comes into the season ranked No. 12 in the preseason DiG Magazine collegiate beach volleyball poll. The Panthers return 12 players that saw the postseason in 2018, including American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans Federica Frasca (Rome, Italy) and Margherita Bianchin (Venice, Italy). The duo was also named to the CCSA All-Conference Team and to the CCSA All-Tournament Team, following the Panthers' appearance in the tournament semifinals. 

Last season, the Panthers posted a 23-12 record, and a 7-3 mark in Coastal Collegiate Sports Association play, advancing to their first-ever NCAA Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. FIU finished the year ranked No. 9 in the final AVCA poll, and No. 10 in the final DiG Magazine rankings.

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