MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Barry got stronger as the night wore on, and the Buccaneers volleyball team moved to .500 in the league.

Barry beat Florida Tech, 24-26, 25-20, 25-18, 25-23, in a Sunshine State Conference match Thursday night. The Bucs improved to 12-9, 4-4 in the SSC. The Panthers fell to 6-14, 0-8.

Barry's Jaeda Allen finished with 18 kills and 12 digs. Kristina Filimonova had 12 kills and three blocks. Genesis Castillo had nine kills and three blocks. Jenny Trinidad had 39 assists and 12 digs. Kat Espinosa had 23 digs. Ivana Didanovic had seven kills and five blocks. 

Barry found itself chasing Florida Tech throughout the first set. The Bucs had 13 kills and eight errors in the first set. The Panthers had 15 kills and seven errors. After tying the opening set at 24-24 on a kill by Allen, FIT's Kelly Germain had a kill and the Bucs committed an attack error to allow the Panthers to get out to a 1-0 lead.

Barry came from 11-5 down in the second set to take a 13-11 lead after Trinidad served the Buccaneers in front in an extended run. Allen's kill made it 15-12. Filimonova pounded a kill down the middle to put the Bucs ahead 18-14. Trinidad's dink pushed Barry on top 20-15. Castillo blasted a cross-court kill to move the Bucs within a point of tying the match, and Didanovic tapped down a winner to tie it up at a set apiece.

The Buccaneers hit .278 with 14 kills and four errors in the second set. The Panthers hit .158 on 11 kills and five errors.

Trinidad served up an ace in the third set to give Barry a 10-7 lead. Filimonova's tap bumped the Bucs ahead 15-11. Castillo's ace made it 17-12, but Florida Tech ran off the next three points to close within two before Filimonova slammed down a ball off the slide. Kaitlin Drake tapped down a point and then banged home a kill to move the Bucs in front 22-17. Barry won three of the last four points in the set to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Bucs hit .452 in the third set, putting away 15 kills with just one error. The Panthers hit .233 with 11 kills and four errors. 

Barry ran out to a 10-6 lead in the fourth set when Allen tapped down an overpass. A block by Filimonova and Castillo and kill by Castillo gave the Buccaneers a six-point lead. Allen's cross-court swing made it 14-8. Florida Tech pulled within 19-16 on a kill by Abigael Brenke. The Panthers tied it three serves later on a Bucs attack error. Espinosa's ace pushed Barry back ahead by two, but the Panthers pulled even on a Bucs attack error. Allen slammed down a kill for a 23-21 lead. A kill by Allen, followed by Kiersten Rosa's kill for the Panthers set up Filimonova's putaway on an overpass to seal the match.

The Bucs hit .254 in the match. The Panthers hit .178. Barry outdug Tech, 65-53. Barry had eight blocks, while FIT had six.

Filimonova hit .476. Allen hit .325. Didanovic hit .333. Olivia Hersey had 11 kills, and Jenna Schaffer 10 for the Panthers. 

Barry will host Lynn at 7 p.m. Tuesday.