The New York University Men's Volleyball Team, ranked #10 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) defeated #13 Nazareth College in a United Volleyball Conference (UVC) match on Friday, February 18, in Brooklyn, NY.

The three-set victory (25-16, 25-20, 25-20) was the fourth straight for the Violets (6-3, 2-0), while Nazareth fell to (14-4, 0-1).

NYU never trailed in the opening set, taking nine-point leads on three occasions.

In the second set, the Violets trailed by four, 16-12, before embarking on a 5-0 run to take the lead. After the Golden Flyers tied the match at 18-18, NYU scored five of the next six points and clinched the set on a kill by Gautham Dasari.  

The Violets led by as many as six points early in the final set, but Nazareth rallied to pull within one at 19-18. Three consecutive NYU points followed as the Violets went on to the victory.

"We hit well as a team. We attacked at a 33-percent clip and had really strong performances by Gautham Dasari, James Haag and Owen Wahlgren," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "And, Ryan Whealen did a great job setting things up with 30 assists. We received their service really well, and that was a key. In these conference battles, the guys step up their intensity and really stay focused."

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:

- Dasari finished with a match-high 11 kills.

- Jack Candido contributed nine kills and Haag added eight.

- Zach Knudsen totaled a match-high eight digs. 

The Violets are right back on the court tomorrow when they host Elmira College in another UVC match-up. First serve is set for 12:00pm.