The Kentucky volleyball team finds itself in unfamiliar territory. After five straight seasons of advancing to the NCAA Tournament, a school record, UK sits at 9-9 overall and 3-5 in the Southeastern Conference. The NCAA Tournament, at this point, is far from a sure thing.Head coach Craig Skinner admitted his team is dealing with adversity it didn’t have to in years past, things like youth, inexperience and coping with losses.”I thought we would be further along,” Skinner said. “Part of it is nagging injury-type stuff, part of it is development. It’s hard to tell, but I think we’re getting better at the rate that I thought we would.”While the hopes of competing for an SEC title have been reined in a bit this year because of Florida’s return to the top – the Gators took over the No. 1 ranking in this week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 – Skinner said his team has started to click in recent weeks. “I thought this team had more room to improve than any team that we’ve had here and I think that’s still true,” Skinner said. “I think we’ve improved more in the last two weeks than we have all season.”Two weeks ago, the consequences of playing arguably the nation’s toughest non-conference schedule -UK has played current top-25 opponents Nebraska, Iowa State, Florida State, Cincinnati, LSU and Tennessee – and opening league play with Florida looked like it had finally caught up with the team. The Cats looked worn down and demoralized in three straight sweeps to Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU.For the first time in Skinner’s tenure at Kentucky, it looked as if his team was going to go quietly into the night.But that’s the great thing about youth – it has the ability to bounce back and forget.UK put together arguably its best match of the season Sunday with a 3-1 win over Arkansas. Junior middle blocker Becky Pavan struck for a career-high 19 kills on a near-perfect .792 hitting percentage and sophomore setter Christine Hartmann had a career-best 50 assists in leading UK to a season-high .379 attacking clip.With the conference schedule expected to ease up in the second half of league play, marquee wins over Ohio State and Kansas State, and an RPI of 45, a 9-9 record doesn’t seem so discouraging anymore. The possibility of going to the NCAA Tournament is still very much alive.”We had a meeting about that and where we are,” Skinner said. “No, it’s not where we want to be, but there is certainly a lot of volleyball left. A lot can happen between now and the end of November.”Like reaching the team’s ultimate potential. When Skinner faced the reality that this year’s team would be bare of mainstays like Sarah Rumely, Sarah Mendoza and BriAnne Sauer, he realized there would be bumps. But he didn’t panic.Pointing to the team’s potential – he said this year’s team had as much talent and maybe more than last year’s – Skinner said there would be a point where the youth and inexperience of his team would fall by the wayside and talent would start to take over.Was Sunday’s match the beginning of the team’s transformation? Does this UK team start to make a run now?”I really like this group,” Skinner said. “They have not stopped wanting to get better. I don’t think they quite know how to get better at times but they want to get better. Learning how to win with a new group is sometimes a challenge, but they’ve made a lot of progress.”It may be the best chemistry team I’ve ever had. They want each other to succeed, they encourage each other and they’re excited for each other when they do well. As far as that, I don’t think I could ask for a better group. I think they’re very competitive. I think for us to make this type of improvement that we have the past couple of weeks is a tribute to them.”Watching practice Tuesday, it’s clear this year’s team is still mastering the basics and learning how to play as a team. The talent is there, but Skinner said he’s had to do more hands-on teaching than he has in the last few seasons.”I probably have done a little bit more breaking down things a little bit,” Skinner said. “We’ve probably gone away from that the last couple years. As a coach, it’s something you’re about. You have to break down the fundamentals and you have to break down the basics. This team probably needs it a little bit more than others.”One thing going for the team as it moves into the second half of its season is Skinner appears to have settled on a lineup. With so many news faces and integral parts of the team, Skinner has tried to tweak the lineup to find the right chemistry.Seniors Blaire Hiler and Lauren Rapp have settled into their roles as veteran leaders, Skinner said, but sophomore libero Stephanie Klefot and Hartmann also have emerged as vocal leaders.Hartmann and freshman standout Elizabeth Koberstein  have shared time at setter for part of the season, but Hartmann started both matches last weekend and has taken control of the position, Skinner said.  “For our team to hit .380 in a conference match on a Sunday, that’s pretty high level,” Skinner said. “A lot of that has to do with setting. She’s pretty confident right now and I think our hitters are really trusting the location she’s putting up there for them. I think that will allow us to get in better rhythm.”With a schedule like the one UK has played and with an RPI below 50, it’s tough to gauge how many wins Kentucky would need over its final 12 regular-season matches to get into the NCAA Tournament for a sixth consecutive year.Either way, Skinner doesn’t allow himself or his team to put a number on it.”As a coach, I still try and do the same thing I ask our players to do and that is to think about today,” Skinner said. “Like Chip Kelly, the Oregon football coach, he talks about winning each day, whether you’re undefeated or have nine losses. That’s the only thing you can control.”And right now, though it’s only based off one weekend set of matches, UK appears to finally be clicking. If the momentum can carry over to the second half of the season, it won’t have to worry about the NCAA Tournament for very long.”Six of the eight sets we played this weekend we played at an extremely high level,” Skinner said. “It wouldn’t matter who was across the net; I thought we would be competitive enough to win each of those sets.”