RIO RANCHO — Brian Ainsworth gave his "return to sender" 364 days later.

It was worth every day and every penny.

From the pocket of the Pojoaque Valley High School head volleyball coach emerged the nine shredded pieces of the Nov. 15, 2008, sports section of The New Mexican.

Plastered on the front page was Las Vegas Robertson's Daniella Montoya celebrating the Lady Cardinals' Class AAA state semifinal win over the Elkettes. That image was an enduring memory for the Elkettes every time they entered their locker room in Ben Luján Gymnasium.

Until Friday.

Ainsworth unleashed a year's worth of waiting as he tore the paper into pieces to the cheers of his huddled Elkettes after a 25-16, 25-17,
26-24 win over Robertson on Friday in the same round that last year's journey ended.

And he returned it in his post-match interview.

"I want to give you your paper back," Ainsworth said as he patted it on top of a garbage can. "This is what won the game here."

This time, Pojoaque (22-1) gets what it wanted last year — a chance to play for a blue championship trophy. It happens today at 4 p.m. against Portales, which beat St. Michael's 25-22, 25-14, 20-25, 25-16 in the other semifinal.

That's what one picture started.

It begot an offseason of sweat, which resulted in a 19-1 regular season record, a fifth straight 10-0 mark in District 2AAA, and a fourth district tournament title in five years.

"From that day, we've just been working so hard," Pojoaque senior Dionna Montoya said. "We go to practice and go, 'You know what? That's where we want to be.' "

In the first five games of the AAA tournament, Pojoaque dominated with serving, defense and aggressive hitting.

A 25-21, 25-14, 25-12 win over Santa Fe Indian School in Friday's quarterfinal set up a rematch with Robertson, which disposed of Hatch Valley 25-8, 16-25, 25-21, 25-15.

While the image motivated, the Lady Cardinals were the objective of Pojoaque's ire.

"I was really excited about it," Dionna Montoya said. "What happened last year was we beat them four times, they beat us the fifth, when it meant the most."

Guess what? Pojoaque won the first four matchups between the two this year. And this was No. 5.

Yet, the previous 22 matches weren't just a prelude to this moment. They were tests of the Elkettes' ability to handle the pressure of the postseason, regardless of the foe or the round.

The first two games were a testament of the Elkettes' unyielding excellence. Robertson's plan was to counter Pojoaque's near-flawless serving and relentless defense with aggressive hitting.

"We had to be more offensive, that's it," Robertson head coach Raynee Gerhart said. "We had to swing at more balls than they do to win. So that they're digging more than we're digging."

It was Pojoaque doing most of the swinging, and the Lady Cardinals did a lot of watching.

Lindsay Longacre had a pair of kills.

Tamarra Vigil had three.

Kira Trujillo and Dionna Montoya each recorded six.

Ainsworth had more names on the tip of his tongue.

When Dionna Montoya ended Game 2 with a kill, Pojoaque stood just 25 points away from its intended goal.

"Liz (Elizabeth Gomez) just dominated the net today," Ainsworth said. "She took Jazmine (Harge, of Robertson) out of the game. ... Cara (Salazar) dug her. Miquella (Lovato) dug her. Liz played a hell of a game. Tamarra played a hell of a game.

"I'll tell you what, this is what this is about — stepping up when the opportunity is there."

Robertson, the AAA runner-up for the last two years, wasn't just going to fade away.

The Lady Cardinals started Game 3 with four straight points. When the Elkettes came back to within 10-9, the Lady Cardinals dished out four straight points. When the margin closed to 16-14, Lady Cardinals outside hitter Brooke Knezevich had a kill to start a 4-0 run.

"Through the first game and the third game, we applied all the pressure," Ainsworth said. "It was because we were hitting the ball. Then 'D' start thinking too much. Kira started thinking too much. We started tipping the ball, and I was like, 'Come on.'

"That ain't going to win us a championship. Let's go out swinging."

Swing away, Pojoaque did.

It began with back-to-back kills by Dionna Montoya, followed by a pair of hitting errors by Harge. Daniella Montoya was called for a double hit, and the score was squared at 23.

Dionna Montoya came up with a cross-court kill for 24-23, Elkettes.

Harge retorted with a kill of her own. 24-all.

Robertson couldn't get the ball out of its side of the court. 25-24, Pojoaque.

Match point consisted of a Lovato dig off a Harge kill, which turned into a hit by Dionna Montoya, which bounced off Harge's body and onto the floor.

Handshakes ensued and then Pojoaque gathered for the shredding.

"He said, 'You know, here's to this,' " senior Marissa Romero said.

Don't think this is the end of those memories.

Pojoaque didn't go through all of that just for a taste.

"That wasn't our goal — just to beat them," Dionna Montoya said. "Our goal is (today) at 4 o'clock against Portales."

That's when Pojoaque will be handed its lasting image for 2009, in blue or red.

This one can't be sent back.