Gautham Dasari's career-high 20 kills led New York University's 11th-ranked men's volleyball team to a four-set win over 15th-ranked Rutgers-Newark on day on of the Morgan Classic, hosted by Springfield College in Springfield, MA.

Lucas Osiecki had 15 kills of his own and Ryan Li posted a 45-assist, 10-dig double-double as the Violets won their seventh straight match to improve to 7-1 on the season.

"Good performance by the young men," said head coach José Piña. "We were able to hit and serve at a very good clip in games one and three. And in game four we overcame serving difficulties with an excellent hitting performance while holding Rutgers to about 10 percent."

Zach Knudsen finished with a match-high 19 digs to lead NYU's back line while Buddy Cohen added seven kills to bolster Dasari and Osiecki's offensive success.

The first set was tied 17-17 but NYU closed on a 8-2 run to win the opening frame 25-19.

Rutgers-Newark led for the majority of the second as a battle of ranked teams seemed even to start with the Scarlet Raiders eventually claiming a 25-20 win to even the match 1-1.

The Scarlet Raiders committed eight errors to the Violets' four in the third set. NYU totaled 12 kills and out-hit Rutgers .229-.025, which led to the 25-17 victory and 2-1 edge overall.

NYU's attack continued to find its groove in the fourth, posting 15 kills at a .367 clip while Rutgers-Newark had just eight kills of their own (.111) as the Violets closed this one out with a 25-20 triumph.

The Violets will now play in the title match of the Morgan Classic against host and third-ranked Springfield tomorrow, February 11, at 8:00 p.m.