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ESTERO — The timing of the United States volleyball team’s rise in the Beijing Olympics could not have been better for Florida Gulf Coast University.

Before and after FGCU practices implementing the high-energy, aggressive Brazilian game the Eagles intend to sport this season, first-year coach Dave Nichols was able to point to the U.S. men’s surprising gold medal win against Brazil and the American women’s intense gold medal match loss to Brazil as examples of where he wants his program to go.

He even taped the U.S. matches against Brazil for future reference.

“Just like anybody who plays basketball would be inspired by the Redeem Team,” Nichols said. “We’re in the same boat.”

Thus far, while it hasn’t been exactly smooth sailing — especially as the Eagles learn Nichols’ new blocking schemes — FGCU is ahead of schedule as the 2008 season opens at 11 this morning against Maine in first-round action of the Hilton/NCCU tournament in Durham, N.C.

“We’re actually further along than I would have thought considering how many new systems I’m putting in,” Nichols said.

FGCU — which went 23-3 and won the Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season title with a 10-1 mark in its first Division I campaign last year — scrimmaged against Nova Southeastern and Miami-Dade Community College last week.

Nichols tossed plenty of “random” lineups out there, but when he inserted starters like All-Atlantic Sun first-team setter Roberta Santos and A-Sun player of the year Ana Kokanovic at his foes, FGCU began clicking.

“Offensively, the kids were really trying to do what we ask,” Nichols said. “They were swinging at ball from the back row, they were doing a pretty good job in terms of unforced errors and staying aggressive. We still need a lot of work with the timing and the tempo but they’re buying in.”

Nichols won 276 games and two Division II titles in 12 years at Barry University. He played for three UCLA national championship teams before tutoring Karch Kiraly as a Bruins graduate assistant and later playing professionally on the beach circuits.

In April, Nichols took over for Jaye Flood, who was suspended with eight games left last season for “student welfare” concerns before being fired in January after an internal investigation determined she pursued an in appropriate relationship with a student.

Nichols then introduced a bit of a culture shock to most of his players when they first practiced on Aug. 11. But senior outside hitter Cheyenne Jenks, a Naples High graduate, said Nichols was exactly who — and what — the Eagles wanted: an aggressive, Brazilian-style coach.

“(Brazilian women) take big swings,” Nichols said. “They’re very skilled. Jaye’s teams, for example, you’ll never find a better passing team. But Brazil plays that way and they rip the ball out of the back row and they run fast stuff with the hitters. It’s really a little more similar to how the men’s game is played.”

Santos, a senior from Recife, Brazil, and 5-foot-10 senior middle hitter Kokanovic, who played the Brazilian style in her native Serbia, have helped the Eagles make the transition.

Today, when the Eagles also play UNC-Asheville, FGCU will be without Santos, who is serving a two-game suspension for a DUI. She’ll be replaced by sophomore Amy Casteel. But Saturday the Eagles will be ready to go for it with Santos on court.

Nichols, who has been working with the Eagles to use much more of a wide range of individual power, wants nothing held back. The master plan is for 2009, when FGCU will be finished with the D-I transition, making the Eagles eligible for A-Sun and NCAA tournament play.

But it never is the right time for Nichols’ teams to hold back.

“When they get into a game with me and they go up and take a rip at the ball and hit it 2 feet out, I’m jumping up from the bench going, ‘Nice swing! Yeah, Baby, come on. Keep swinging at that ball,’ ” Nichols said. “It’s like (Duke and U.S. Olympic men’s basketball coach) Mike Krzyzewski. When you watch him coach, he gets mad when a player does not take a shot. He doesn’t get mad at them when they miss a shot. So what are Duke shooters like? They’re pretty damn confident because, ‘Hey, he wants me to take that shot.’ It’s like me with hitting. That’s the mental progression we want.”

* * *

2008 FGCU volleyball schedule

Today vs. Maine 11 a.m.

Today vs. UNC-Asheville 5 p.m.

Saturday vs. Elon Noon

Saturday vs. TBA TBA

New Mexico State tournament

(at Las Cruces, N.M.)

Thursday vs. New Mexico State 7 p.m.

Sept. 5 vs. Houston 7 p.m.

Sept. 6 vs. Utah 10 a.m.

---

Sept. 9 Stetson* 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 Campbell* 3 p.m.

Sept. 19 at Mercer* 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Kennesaw State* 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 26 So. Carolina Upstate* 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 East Tennessee State* 3 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Belmont* 3:30 p.m.

Oct. 4 at Lipscomb* 5 p.m.

Oct. 10 Jacksonville* 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 North Florida* 5 p.m.

Oct. 18 Belmont* 3 p.m.

Oct. 19 Lipscomb* 1 p.m.

Oct. 21 at Central Florida 7 p.m.

Oct. 24 at East Tennessee State* 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 at South Carolina Upstate* 3 p.m.

Oct. 31 Kennesaw State* 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 1 Mercer* 3 p.m.

Nov. 4 at Stetson* 7 p.m.

Nov. 7 at Campbell* 7 p.m.

Nov. 11 Florida International 7 p.m.

Nov. 14 at North Florida* 7 p.m.

Nov. 15 at Jacksonville* 5 p.m.

* — Atlantic Sun Conference match