RIO RANCHO — Jenna Wagner will introduce herself to the Elkettes of Pojoaque Valley High School at 4 this afternoon in Santa Ana Star Center.

More specifically, to Miquella Lovato.

It should be quite the meet-and-greet between what many consider to be the best hitter in Class AAA — Wagner — against the state's unquestionable best defender — Lovato.

Wagner was as unstoppable as Lady Horsemen tears Friday night, leading the Lady Rams of Portales to a 25-22, 25-14, 20-25, 25-16 victory over St. Michael's in a semifinal of the Class AAA State Volleyball Tournament.

Portales (16-7) arrives as the second seed. Pojoaque Valley (22-1) awaits as the top seed.

"It's going to be a battle," said Ruth Chavez, Portales head coach. "That's the way it should be for a three-A state championship."

Chavez was talking about the match. The outcome could hinge on how well the Elkettes block and dig Wagner, a 6-foot-1 senior, and Macy Mitchell, a 6-0 sophomore.

"I know it's going to be tough," Wagner said. "It's something we're gonna have to fight for."

It won't be the first time.

Three of the four games against the Lady Horsemen were knock down, drag out.

"We didn't give up," Lynda Romero, one of five St. Michael's seniors, said. "We just gave in a little bit."

The Lady Horsemen, the fifth seed, were rock solid. The problem was, the Lady Rams were an ocean of offense — consistent in their execution, unrelenting in their attack.

"They are very, very solid," Chela Butler, St. Michael's head coach, said. "It was hard to find a weakness in their game."

Portales' strength is obvious.

Wagner finished with 18 kills. She added six solo block kills. Her touches were countless. The highlight of her match was a seven-point series in the second game.

With the Lady Rams sitting 14-10, Wagner started with a pair of block kills. She followed with a pair of kills and finished the decisive run with a block and a kill off the block for 21-10.

"I didn't think she hurt us that much, but maybe she did," Butler said.

Butler's mind was elsewhere, and rightfully so.

"We couldn't score any points when we had the ball," Butler, who guided the Lady Horsemen to the 2002 state championship, said. "We had a hard time keeping our serve."

Exhibit A came after Aimee Geyer's kill for 20-19 in the opener.

The Lady Rams responded with four straight points, the first half off a Wagner kill and tip.

Geyer added two more kills but served into the net with Portales holding game point.

Exhibit B occurred with the Lady Horsemen nursing a 5-2 advantage in the second game. The Lady Rams stitched together seven of the next eight points and 10 of 12 to fashion a 12-7 lead. They later added Wagner's seven-point masterpiece.

Exhibit C happened in the finale, when St. Michael's recorded back-to-back points twice. The first pulled the Lady Horsemen to within 3-2.

The second closed the gap to 23-16.

Only after they trailed by two games did St. Michael's display the skill and savvy that eliminated Raton 25-23, 25-17, 25-20 in Friday afternoon's quarterfinal.

The Lady Horsemen caught the Lady Rams 6-6 on a Geyer kill and took the lead on a Geyer ace.

The game would be knotted five additional times before the combination of a Geyer kill and Geyer ace put the Lady Horsemen on top for good, 17-15.

Adrienne Chavez's ace made it 20-17. Nicole Murphy's kill made it 21-18. Alex Chavez's roof made it 22-18.

Geyer sandwiched a kill and a block kill around an Alexa Chavez service winner to extend the match.

"This is our next three," Murphy told her teammates. "We showed so much heart. That's why this is so heartbreaking."

The Lady Horsemen (14-11) believed they were prepared for Wagner and Mitchell. Well, they were ready for a power surge.

"They completely threw us off with their tips," Murphy said. "They played so smart."

Gabby Garcia provides the deception. Garcia is to Portales what Liz Gomez is to Pojoaque Valley. Both are overshadowed and underappreciated. Yet, neither would be in the final without them.

"Our juniors carried us," Brian Ainsworth, Pojoaque Valley head coach, said of Gomez and Tamarra Vigil after the Elkettes advanced with a 25-16, 25-17 and 26-24 over Las Vegas Robertson in the other semifinal.

Romero, the Lady Horsemen libero, stood in front of the best the state had to offer. First, in district. Then, at state.

She wouldn't put Wagner and Mitchell above Jazmine Harge and Brooke Knezevich of Robertson, Kira Trujillo and Dionna Montoya, of Pojoaque Valley, and LeKesha Padilla and Melodie Cruz, of Santa Fe Indian School.

Neither would Wagner.

"Everyone stepped up this year and played with so much heart," Wagner said. "We had the potential to win it last year, but I'm not sure what happened. We were determined to get back to the final two this year."

And be the eventual one, Jenna?

Wagner, a four-year starter, was a sophomore the last time the Lady Rams celebrated a state championship in volleyball.

Lovato, a five-year starter, was a freshman when the Elkettes captured their lone state title.

"Defense has always been a strong part of their game," coach Chavez said of the Elkettes. "We have to put the ball down."

Wagner wouldn't want it any other way.

"Do I want every set?" she said, answering a question with a question. "All the time. Every single time."

Lovato knows who and what is coming.

So much for introductions.