Fabiana de Abreu begins her fifth season as a member of The University of Texas-Pan American women's volleyball coach staff and second season as its Associate Head Coach.

After spending three seasons as an assistant coach, de Abreu was promoted to Associate Head Coach in August of 2005. The Brazilian native's worth to the Lady Broncs' program is priceless as she played an important part of their success - both on and off the court - since her arrival. Along with her on-court coaching duties, de Abreu is also responsible for recruiting, organizing summer camps, organizing community service projects, managing the squad's budget, game preparation as well as the strength and conditioning development of the Lady Broncs.

On the court, de Abreu works mainly with the outside and right-side hitters and was responsible for the success of three All-Independent hitters over the last two seasons. During the 2005 season, de Abreu mentored and tutored newcomer Kellie Phillips to one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in program history, which included a second team All-Independent selection as well as her name in the UTPA single-season, single-match, career and freshman record books.

De Abreu has done a tremendous job in the development of the Lady Broncs' outside hitters and has helped mold them into one of the most talented groups in program history. In her three seasons mentoring Heather Bravo, she has watched as the UTPA senior became the third player in program history to record 300 kills and 300 digs in a season during the 2005 campaign as well as earn All-Independent honors.

Along with the current group of outside hitters, former outside hitters have also benefited from the tutelage of de Abreu, including Winker Cruz and Cathi Netermeyer - both of which have earned All-Independent honors and can be found in the UTPA single-season and career record books. Prior to her arrival, the Lady Broncs have only had one season where they had at least two players record 300 or more kills, but this has occurred three times during de Abreu's tenure.

During her time with the program, de Abreu has also worked with the development of the setters - another position that has been upgraded her since arrival. The UTPA associate head coach mentored Katie Burke during the 2002 season and watched as she broke the program's single-season record for assists with 1,335. That season, Burke became only the second player in program history to record 1,000 assists or more in a season.

De Abreu started her coaching career as a student-assistant at the University of Iowa after finishing her playing days for the Hawkeyes. As a player, she was an integral component in the team's success as she earned a variety of awards during her two-year stint. She garnered Most Valuable Player laurels at the University of Iowa Tournament and earned a selection to the University of Hawai'i All-Tournament Team. During her tenure, she was awarded with Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors.

Prior to joining the University of Iowa, de Abreu put together one of the most unbelievable junior college careers at the College of Southern Idaho. She was the cornerstone of the program in each of her two seasons with the Golden Eagles and guided them to the National Junior College Athletic Association Championship in her first season with the squad.

In two seasons with the squad, de Abreu recorded 954 kills and a career hitting percentage of .407 en route to earning a selection to the NJCAA Women's Volleyball Team of the Century - one of the most prestigious junior college awards in the country.

De Abreu earned a pair of NJCAA National Player of the Year awards while becoming a two-time NJCAA first team All-American selection. The former Golden Eagle great also stacked her trophy case with a pair of Scenic West All-Region Team laurels, NJCAA All-Tournament Most Valuable Player accolades, NJCAA All-Tournament Team honors and Region 18 All-Tournament Team awards.

Prior to coming to the United States, de Abreu was a standout player for the Brazilian National Team where she traveled all around the world competing and dominating the best competition. She earned recognition for being the Best Hitter at the South American and World Championships, and was also award with All-Tournament Team laurels at the World Championships in 1997.

De Abreu earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from the University of Iowa in May 2002.

The UTPA associate head coach resides in Edinburg.