Craig Skinner has long talked about making Kentucky into a traditional volleyball powerhouse. After a school-record five straight NCAA Tournament selections, Kentucky has thrown itself into that elite group.

With this year’s NCAA Tournament pairings, UK becomes one of just 20 schools nationwide to have made the “Big Dance” five years running (full list below). Of course there are your annual powerhouses like Penn State and Nebraska in the running every year, but to have your name throw into the same discussion with schools like those is a testament to how far Craig Skinner has taken this program in just a short amount of time.

Before Skinner arrived, UK had made it to the tourney just six times.

“We want to be at an elite level year in and year out,” Skinner said. “Making the tournament is part of that criteria. It’s exciting. I think our team expects to play in the NCAA Tournament every year, and we expect to as a staff.”

UK kicks off its tournament run Friday at 7 p.m. vs. Michigan State in Memorial Coliseum.

NCAA tourney selection five straight years1.) California2.) Colorado State3.) Duke4.) Florida5.) Florida A&M6.) Hawaii7.) Kentucky8.) Long Beach State9.) Long Island10.) LSU11.) Louisville12.) Minnesota13.) Nebraska14.) Ohio15.) Penn State16.) Southern California17.) Stanford18.) Texas19.) UCLA20.) Washington

Denotes SEC school