I want to make something very clear: Bowling Green is just fine.

Sure, it stings that the team failed to pick up a win this week in their trip out west to Colorado.

But, I want to share with everyone a quote that was said to me by Danijela Tomic earlier in the week during Tuesday’s practice.

“It take 10,000 hours to be an overnight success.”

To put this into context, Tomic was referring to multiple players on the roster who have had to wait for their chance to shine, but when they get that chance, it’s not a surprise to her and the entire team that they come in and play well.

But, how can this be related to this week? I feel that deep down, this is going to be the metaphor of the season for this team.

Last week, I spoke about the team and it’s overall depth, which still today is as deep and talented as ever.

But, that did not mean that I felt that there would be some challenges along the way; in fact, it was the complete opposite.

Just like any other sport, when you have familiar faces acting in different roles, or new faces joining the rotation, in volleyball, there will be growing pains to work out.

That narrative was put on display this weekend in Fort Collins, especially because this weekend? The orange and brown did not have Kat Mandly, who was held out of play for an undisclosed reason as of now.

Not having Mandly, who currently is top five in kills (fourth), digs (fifth), and service aces (fifth), can certainly disrupt a few things for a team that is still working their way into rhythm.

But that does not mean that the roster had some flashes of excellence.

For example, Falcon fans got to see Hannah Best get some important reps, and she played well, registering 22 kills, 18 digs, and four service aces over the course of the weekend.

We also saw freshman Amanda Otten continue her season of dominance, as she racked up back-to-back triple-doubles against Colorado State and Pacific, the first two of what will seemingly be many during her collegiate career.

But most of all, what I found is to be the most significant value of the weekend?

Adversity.

Every team needs to be sharpened as the season goes along, especially in a sport like volleyball, where at the collegiate level, we are seeing many mid-major level programs go toe-to-toe and/or defeat Power Five programs.

Don’t believe me? Go ask Colleen Munson about how her Western Michigan team did in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines.

It’s not as if BGSU was swept or played ugly against Colorado State, Pacific, and #14 Baylor.

In fact, they played very strong, going five sets with the Tigers and four sets with the Rams and Bears.

In the CSU match, BG continued a shaky trend of starting slow in the match, falling behind early 9-0, but then responded with fight and toughness the rest of the way.

In the Pacific match, BG reversed that trend by commanding the first set 25-16, but then hit a cold stretch in which Pacific rallied off back-to-back sets.

Facing a team like Baylor, it was impressive to see the Falcons come out hot with a first set win (25-21), but then again, we saw some inconsistencies, as the Bears went on to win three straight afterwards.

But that’s the thing, even with some of the early-season rollercoaster rides, I have a feeling that eventually, BG will find their groove CONSISTENTLY.

All it’s going to take is some time, patience, and overall faith.

I was wrong to think that Tomic was crazy for throwing out a freshman in the first match of the season, so why should I doubt her ability to get this team to find it’s peak and stabilize the rollercoaster they’ve been on right now?

This team has all the tools with all the right people. All we need to do as fans and journalists is sit back and watch.

Sure, the success isn’t coming in bunches yet, but just like a player waiting for their moment to shine within this program, the team is going to come together and find their groove in no time.

Maybe it’ll take one week, one month, or 10,000 hours, but eventually, this team will come to form.

Just remember the tough non-conference, the many early-season road trips, and all new faces getting playing time.

If you expected them to be perfect, you’d be crazy.

All that matters now? The match on Friday against Michigan at the Stroh.

For more information about the team and BGSU Athletics, follow Falcon Media Sports Network on X (@bg_fmsn).