After taking a bow in the first round of the state playoffs the past two years, the Powers volleyball team this year is hoping to avoid the same fate.

Four of the team’s seniors — Nicole Bittner, Kristin Clauson, Haley Patterson and Sosha Hofsess — have started for the Cruisers the past three seasons, and for them this is a last shot at the state tournament after a long career together. Powers coach Beth Rector said this has been a special group.

“They’ve been playing together since the sixth grade,” said Rector. “They know each other really well and kind of read each other’s moves and know what the other person is going to do. You can’t really coach that. And they all just love the game, and know the game.”

The team’s other two seniors are Chelsea Standley and Haley Brewer.

For the third straight year, the Cruisers have their work cut out for them. With a win over Camas Valley on Saturday, Powers earned a trip tonight to Damascus Christian, located east of Clackamas near Portland. The Eagles are 18-2 on the season and won the regular-season title in the Valley 10 League, but lost to Southwest Christian in the league playoffs.

Rector expects a challenging match for her 11-5 squad.

“They’re not used to losing that much,” Rector said of the Eagles, adding that anything is possible in the postseason. “At this point any team is beatable. It’s the playoffs and anything can happen.”

Rector doesn’t have a good way to gauge how her team will match up with Damascus Christian, since scouting wasn’t possible and game tape was unavailable. Skyline League champion Days Creek defeated Damascus Christian in pool play at a Columbia Christian tournament Sept. 27, but that doesn’t tell Powers much — the Cruisers fell to Days Creek twice in straight sets this year.

But Powers does have some reason to feel confident, as the team seems to be playing some of its best volleyball of the year just as the postseason is getting rolling.

“The girls have been staying focused,” said Rector. “They know that they are a stronger team than they were last year, and they’re starting to play well at the right time.”

Last season, Powers had another tough first-round draw, driving nine-and-a-half hours to lose to Powder Valley, near La Grande. This year the team will travel about five hours, ending with a shot at prolonging the season — and the high school careers of a tight-knit group of friends.

“I just told them, ‘You guys don’t have anything to lose. Use this opportunity to extend your season a little bit farther than we went last year,’” said Rector.