Questions Surround CF Volleyball's Home-Court Return

The accomplishments have come in waves recently for the first-year CF Patriots volleyball program. A national ranking. A sweep of the defending conference champions. Victory number 20. A state player of the week.

But there's one glaring item left unchecked on the team's list.

A victory on its home court.

The renovated CF gym enjoyed its ceremonial grand opening Aug. 31 as the 4-0 Patriots welcomed Polk State. The night ended with CF's first mark in the loss column.

A week later, after four more victories away from Ocala, the Patriots hosted defending NJCAA Division II champion Pasco-Hernando, and suffered loss No. 2.

Patriot fans may be led to question the accuracy of the dispatches arriving from the road, apocryphal tales of a conquering national power stomping across the Southeast clad in Patriot blue and red. After all, CF fans back home have watched their team win all of 2 sets.

After three successful weeks on the road, the Patriots have the opportunity over the next two weeks to reconcile the product on display on their home court with their growing reputation nationwide.

CF hosts NAIA school Warner University at 7 pm Wednesday, a low-pressure non-NJCAA matchup that might serve to ease the team's apparent home-court stage fright. On Thursday at 7 pm, state rival Gulf Coast visits for a non-conference match that will conveniently test the theory that CF is a superior team away from home; the Patriots handled Gulf Coast in 4 sets on a neutral court in the season's opening weekend.

The following week brings CF's first home Mid-Florida Conference match, Oct. 4 versus defending MFC champ FSC-Jacksonville, and an Oct. 5 non-conference match against Brevard. Were it not for the lingering issue of its home-court struggles, the Patriots would be prohibitive favorites for the conference crown after defeating each of the other three contenders on their respective home courts. Home matches against Lake-Sumter and St. Johns River later in October complete the quick six-game MFC slate.

But CF remains in the unusual situation of being world-beaters away from home but entirely unproven in its own friendly confines.

For fans who prefer their sports with a dash of intrigue, the Patriots' upcoming four-game homestand arrives shrouded in a cloak of mystery.