METHUEN — After No. 5 Methuen survived yesterday's open round match against No. 12 Chelmsford, Ranger head coach Matt Twomey recalled something that his wife has often told him.

"My wife (the former Lisa Golobski) won a state championship in basketball (with Methuen) back in 1999 and she's always told me that their hardest game was their first game in the tournament," he said.

Twomey's squad certainly didn't have an easy first round either.

The Rangers surrendered a late lead in the opening game and eventually lost it 25-23. Then, their second game remained tight most of the way, causing Twomey to pace near the end of the bench with his arms crossed.

Methuen overcame its sluggish start to beat Chelmsford, 23-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-16.

"That third and fourth game, we really took it to them," Twomey said.

Rashidat Agboola, who recorded 17 kills and five blocks, said that the first game was a wake-up call for how her team must approach the rest of the tournament.

"I think it kind of showed us that we need to play with more energy," Agboola said. "A lot of the time we talk about our goal to go farther than just the quarterfinals."

Twomey said before the season that he was not satisfied with just posting another strong record, but that his team also had to start playing better in the tourney.

Methuen was the No. 2 seed last year but lost to the No. 10 seed in the sectional quarterfinals.

Twomey. now in his fifth season as coach, has seen two seasons end in the quarterfinal round, one season end in the semifinals (2007) and one season end without qualifying.

"It's nice to have a lot of wins in the regular season but the tournament is where it counts," he said. "And I think we've hit our stride and we're playing real well."

Courtney Murach — who has played three different positions this fall — had 13 kills and four blocks.

"We usually start off slow," Murach said. "I'm glad we only did it for one game."

Methuen 3, Chelmsford 1

Division 1 North first round

Kills: M — Rashidat Agboola 17

Blocks: M — Agboola 5

Assists: M —Elaina Guzman 37

Service points (aces): Courtney Bradley 15

Digs: M — Caitlyn Berube 22

Methuen (15-5):23âÇ25âÇ25âÇ25 — 3

Chelmsford (10-11):25âÇ17âÇ14âÇ16 — 1