Gautham Dasari led the way with a match-high 11 kills as New York University's 13th-ranked men's volleyball team defeated Hunter College in four sets on Tuesday night at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility.

It was the home opener for the Violets, who won via set scores of 25-14, 25-13, 22-25, 25-23. NYU dominated the first two sets before head coach José Piña inserted his young players into the lineup in the third and fourth.

"I wanted to give everybody playing time, especially the freshmen, and we made errors in games three and four," Piña noted. "What stabilized us in game four was Gautham being able to calm down the team and take the big swings that were needed at the end."

Dasari has now reached double-digit kills in three of NYU's four matches this year while rookie Jerry Feng contributed a season-high seven kills as well.

The first set was closely contested to start, with NYU leading 7-5 early on, but the Violets went off for seven straight points to go up 14-5 and essentially put the frame away. NYU committed just three attack errors in the first, while totaling nine kills, to easily take the opener.

Set two was more of the same as the Violets went ahead 12-5 after an ace from Dasari. A 7-2 NYU run followed as the Violets ran away with the second and seemed poised for a sweep.

But, the reserves entered in the third which allowed Hunter to claw back as the Hawks notched 11 kills on .233 hitting to force a fourth.

The score was tied 11-11 in the fourth but NYU rattled off eight consecutive points to take a commanding lead. Hunter fought back though, later tying the score at 22-22, but Dasari went on to deliver the match-clinching kill to protect home court for the Violets.

"I have to give these guys experience now so that, when needed, they are ready to contribute," Piña added. "But, overall it was good. The first two games were indicative of what we can do and the guys pretty much dominated those two games. Then, there were a lot of substitutions and the game wasn't as clean as it could have been. It was a learning experience for the younger guys and a learning experience for the older guys to make sure that they hold the younger guys accountable."

Brian Kellogg, Luke Boyer, Jake Upham, Nate Milchan and Robert Allen all had at least three kills for NYU. Sachin Dasari finished with a career-high 36 assists, adding eight digs and three total blocks.

Zach Knudsen brought up a team-high 10 digs while Allen, Feng and G. Dasari had two aces each.

Next up for the Violets is another home matching, taking on Arcadia University on Thursday, February 2, at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility.