| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff Game | ||||||
| Methuen | 25 | 22 | 25 | 20 | 15 | 3 |
| Lawrence | 22 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 9 | 2 |
Methuen volleyball coach Matt Twomey said it best: "Any good team knows it's about making the tournament. Then you start at 0-0 and no one's better than anyone else."
The Rangers made the North sectional as 10th seed at 11-9 and and have proceeded to bounce a pair of higher ranked team, the latest being No. 2 Lawrence in a 3-2 beauty of a quarterfinal.
Both Twomey and Lancer counterpart Tony Hajjar were in agreement that the Rangers were on top of their game.
"Methuen played very well," Hajjar said. "They were upbeat and came to play."
"We had no quit whatsoever," Twomey said. "We made it very difficult for Lawrence to go on runs. Every time they got a point we'd turn around and get one."
Quality setting from Methuen's Zach Branchaud (46 assists) matched with Lawrence's Anibal Henriquez and
Joel Rodriguez (16 and 21 kills respectively) as the teams split the first four games.
In the decisive fifth game, Methuen rode the quality serving of Mike Malloy (five straight points, 15 of 16 serving on the night) to grab a five-point lead, and the ball-hawking abilities of Ryan Freeman (eight blocks) to preserve it.
Methuen will next take on the winner of today's Lowell-St. John's Prep matchup in the semifinals.
Kills: M — Kyle Mansour 21, Josh Pappas 18; L — Joel Rodriguez 21, Anibal Henriquez 16
Blocks: M — Ryan Freeman 8, Mansour 5, Mike Malloy 5; L — Christian Mayi 5
Assists: M — Zach Branchaud 46; L — Reibin Hiraldo 45
Service points (aces): M — Branchaud 19, Malloy 15 (Malloy 1); L — Rodriguez 10 (2)
Digs: M — Toni Khouri 28; L — Jeyson Henriquez 10
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