MEMPHIS-The Christian Brothers University Lady Bucs started the 2018 season with a pair of wins Friday in the CBU Invitational, sweeping Maryville before holding off Kentucky Wesleyan in five sets.

CBU 3, Maryville 0 (25-16, 25-7, 25-17)
WHAT HAPPENED:
The Lady Bucs (2-0) hit a school-record .520 as they rolled to a sweep over visiting Maryville in the season opener.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• CBU never trailed, using an eight-point run to pull away to a 10-2 lead, and they never allowed Maryville (0-1) closer than six points again in winning the opening set 25-16.
• The Lady Bucs hit .545 in the second set, opening with a 12-1 run and never allowing the Saints to score consecutive points in a 25-7 win.
• CBU hit .560 in the third set, scoring the first seven points and never allowing Maryville to close the gap as they clinched the sweep with a 25-17 win.

KEY STATS:
• #Emma Lenoir# hit a career-high .636 with 16 kills, 13 digs, three aces and 19 points.
• #Miaya Smith# hit .750 with nine kills and a block in her CBU debut.
• #Mollie Wadsworth# added nine kills, four digs and two blocks.
• #Alayna Jetton# hit .600 with six kills in her CBU debut.
• #Anna Graziosi# dished out 36 assists with five digs and four aces.
• #Blythe Clausen# notched 10 digs.
• #Joze Smith# served for four aces with four digs.

NOTABLE:
• CBU's .520 hitting percentage shatters the previous school record of .427, set against Lee Nov. 15, 2016.
• Lenoir's .636 hitting percentage was the highest for a CBU volleyball player since 2006 as she tied for the fifth-best for an individual in school history with a minimum of 20 attempts. Hall of Famer Laura Washington (2003-06) owns four of the top five marks, including the school record of .704 against Arkansas Tech Oct. 21, 2003.

CBU 3, Kentucky Wesleyan 2 (29-27, 25-19, 24-26, 17-25, 15-12)
WHAT HAPPENED:
The Lady Bucs won the first two sets before the Panthers (0-2) claimed two to send the match to a decisive fifth set, when CBU rallied for a 15-12 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• In a back-and-forth first set that saw no leads of more than four points, KWC served for set point ahead 24-21, but the Lady Bucs used a Miaya Smith kill followed by back-to-back double-blocks by Smith and #Alexa Henderson# to tie the set at 24, eventually winning 29-27 on a Lenoir kill.
• CBU hit .306 in the second set, building leads of 5-2, 13-7 and 19-8 before holding on for a 25-19 win.
• The Lady Bucs led early in the third set, taking an 8-4 edge and extending it to 21-15 on a Joze Smith ace, but the Panthers closed with 11 of the final 14 points to win 26-24 to keep the match alive.
• KWC took an early 8-3 lead it would never relinquish in the fourth set. CBU closed within a point four times, as late as 17-16, before the Panthers closed the set on an 8-1 run to win 25-17 and force a decisive fifth set.
• The Panthers jumped to an early 5-0 lead in the fifth set, taking advantage of three straight CBU attack errors. The Lady Bucs battled back with a 9-2 run, regaining the lead at 9-7. After KWC regained a 12-11 edge, the Lady Bucs closed the set and the match with four straight points, capped by back to back Lenoir kills to clinch the victory.

KEY STATS:
• Miaya Smith hit .447 with 19 kills, four blocks and an ace.
• Lenoir pounded 24 kills with 10 digs and two aces for 26 points.
• Wadsworth rapped out 12 kills with three digs.
• Clausen added 15 digs with three aces.
• Joze Smith garnered 15 digs with one ace.
• Henderson collected 12 digs with four assists, two blocks and two aces.
• Graziosi dished out a career-high 55 assists with eight digs and an ace.

WHAT'S NEXT:
The Lady Bucs return to action with two more matches Saturday in the CBU Invitational. They face Arkansas-Monticello at 9 a.m. before wrapping up the tournament against Pittsburg State at 7 p.m.