Illinois volleyball head coach Kevin Hambly will lead his team for at least five more seasons. Hambly and Illinois have agreed to a contract extension that will run through Jan. 31, 2017.

This comes after his third season as head coach, in which he led Illinois to its first ever national championship game. Illinois athletics director Mike Thomas expressed his satisfaction with Hambly’s coaching in an email sent by assistant sports information director Mike Koon.

“With Kevin, our teams have succeeded at the highest level on the court as well as in the classroom,” Thomas said. “Under coach Hambly’s leadership, we will compete annually for our ultimate goal and that is to win national championships.”

Hambly, a 2006 graduate of the College of Applied Health Sciences, worked with the volleyball team as an assistant for five years before becoming head coach. He said he and his wife “feel at home in the Champaign-Urbana area” and that he is excited about his future with Illinois.

“I look forward to the challenge of continuing to try and reach the vision we have established and feel fortunate to have an administration committed to that vision as well.”