Setting the Table

Daianarah Bracero does for the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College vol-leyball team what Reggie Jackson once boasted he would do for the New York Yankees in the late 1970s.

Simply put, the talented 5-foot-11 junior setter from Puerto Rico is the straw that stirs the drink for the Scorpions.

Because of her flexibility as a setter, hitter and even a back-row player, Bracero is one of the main rea-sons UTB-TSC is 20-5 overall and has clinched the Red River Athletic Conference South Division with a 4-0 record. The Scorpions hope to continue their conference success against Huston-Tillotson at 1 p.m. Saturday at UTB-TSC’s Manuel Garza B. Gymnasium.

Bracero has expected nothing less than winning since coming to the United States prior to the 2005 school year. She played two seasons for a highly successful Miami Dade College program prior to leaving Florida and coming to UTB-TSC this year with teammate Claudia Alarcon of Peru.

Miami Dade College has won the national junior college championship seven times since 1989. When Bracero was a freshman in 2005, Miami Dade finished second at nationals. Dade finished 10th last year.

After arriving in Brownsville in August, she soon got the feeling that the Scorpions would have the po-tential to enjoy similar success on the NAIA level this season.

“What we are doing now is what I thought we could do,” said Bracero, a kinesiology major. “I think we can get to nationals.

“We’re playing very well together and we help one another,” she added. “We’re working hard every day.”

Bracero is part of a starting six for UTB-TSC that remains fairly constant. The lineup includes Alarcon, Talita Milasauskas, Katie Japp, Jenny Ashley and either Jenissa Arrambide or Jacque Touchet, who alternate starting games. Viviana Lozano is the libero.

Milasauskas said she appreciates the skills that Bracero brings to the team, particularly her talents as a setter.

“In my opinion, Daianarah has brought a lot of consistency to the team as a setter,” she said. “We need a setter like her, because she does a lot of assists and distributes the ball well. It’s something great for every hitter.

“She’s also a leader,” Milasauskas added. “I like to play with her because she has a strong personality (on the court and a strong desire to win). This is important for the team.”

All of the Scorpions display an intense desire to be victorious in every game, and they’re not too happy when they aren’t.

“I want things to come out right all the time and win all the time,” Bracero said. “I get upset when I do something wrong. I like things to come out the way they’re supposed to. Yes, (I’m a perfectionist). We practice hard every day, and what we do in practice is what we should do in the game.”

Evidence of her important contribution to the team is the fact that Bracero is nearing the school record for assists in a season, which was set last year by Lindsay Madsen with 1,300. Bracero is at 1,048 assists and counting. She ranks first in the conference and 24th nationally, averaging 11.6 assists per game.

In 90 games, Bracero also has recorded 108 kills, 50 blocks, 16 aces and 11 digs.

“I think she’s been an integral part of the team’s success this season,” UTB-TSC coach Marcus Young said. “As a setter, she runs the offense, and she’s able to put the ball anywhere on the court from any-where, and that’s a big key to our hitters’ success. It lets the hitters put the ball away and terminate.

“(Thanks to Daianarah), it’s hard for opponents to adjust to all the different things we can do with the ball,” he added.

Going from her native country to Miami, Fla., and then to Brownsville during the past three years has been an adjustment for Bracero. She said the transition has been made easier by her Scorpion team-mates.

“We all get along,” Bracero said. “We’re good teammates. We have a good camaraderie, which didn’t take long to form. Our off-the-court relationship helps us on the court.”

It also helps knowing that she has the support of her parents, Valentin and Estela, plus her three younger brothers back home. She last returned to Puerto Rico for Christmas 2006.

“I think that it’s a source of pride for them that I’ve over here playing volleyball,” Bracero said of her family. “They’re happy that I’m where I’m at and with how well I’m doing.”

Herald assistant sports editor Sophia Larrazolo contributed to this story