Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/325716
to compete. She's not going to shoot her mouth o-, and she's going to play the game the right way." Rose has worked with Hancock to re,ne her serve. It's a powerful weapon, as evi- denced by the eight-minute clip on YouTube of her unleashing one ace a.er another, or another clip in which a Han- cock serve ricochets o- the face of a Ne- braska player. But that power also poses the threat of mutually assured destruction. When her control wanes – as it did in the third game of the championship match against Wisconsin – the momentum im- mediately shi.s back to the opposition. "The scoring potential that she pos- sesses, it goes both ways," Rose said. "She missed her serve three times in a row [against the Badgers]. Those are point scoring opportunities where we don't get Katie [Slay] to block or hit. We don't get A. Scott a chance to block or hit. We try to manage those things. And we talk about risk and reward." The reward came one game later when Hancock spearheaded the Nittany Lions' victory. She was overjoyed to bring Penn State its ,.h national championship in the past seven years, especially a.er the previous season's disappointing end. "These are the games you live for," she said. "They're why you come to a school like this." There will be more of those matches, surely. But when? Hancock's three fellow All-Americans – Scott, McClendon and Slay – have graduated, and a seven-mem- ber freshman class is set to arrive. Hancock will be working with incoming freshman setter Bryanna Weiskircher of Loves Park, Ill., to help ease her transition, and she'll be looking to put the new hitters in position to make an early impact. This year's NCAA final four will be in Oklahoma City. If Penn State is fortunate enough to reach the semifinals for the seventh time in the past eight years, Han- cock will finish her career only about 15 miles from where she first picked up the sport. Penn State's all-time leader in aces with 254, she's done a remarkable job over the years of preventing returns. This, however, is one return she would love to facilitate. ■ FLOOR GENERAL Hancock was named the Big Ten's Setter of the Year for the second sea- son in a row. She led the Nittany Lions in assists in all 36 of their matches, and their hitting percent- age (.305) was the Big Ten's best and ranked fifth nationally. Photo by Mark Selders