Outside hitter Emily Fraik dives for a ball during the Terps’ 3-0 loss to Penn State at Xfinity Center on Nov. 22, 2014.

The Penn State fans went quiet as Nittany Lions setter Micha Hancock began her serve routine. She strode forward with the ball placed in her left palm and threw it upward before jumping to strike the leather with the same hand.

The Penn State crowd, as they had done with each of Hancock’s serves, let out a loud “Boom!” as she connected with the ball.

It sped toward Terrapins volleyball outside hitter Emily Fraik. But she, much like the rest of her team Saturday night, couldn’t handle Hancock’s serve. The ball fell to the floor, the match was over and Hancock had her eighth ace of the night. Penn State took the third set, 25-14, in a straight sets win at Xfinity Center.

“She has one of the top serves in the country,” libero Amy Dion said. “At some point, like her last two serves in the second and third set, you clap and you roll the ball back and you say, ‘Hey, nice job, and we’ll try for the next one.’”

Hancock leads the Big Ten in conference play in aces per set and is second in assists per set, notching .99 and 11.49, respectively. Indiana outside hitter Taylor Lebo sits in second in the conference in aces per set at .46.

“Eighty percent of the sport is based on your first touch both ways, so your ability to serve the ball and your ability to pass the ball. ” coach Steve Aird said. “They pass the ball at a really high level and they serve the ball at a really high level.”

Against the Terps on Saturday, Hancock almost tripled her season’s average from the service line, registering 2.67 aces per set while making two service errors on the night. At two different points in the match, she put together back-to-back aces.

Her effectiveness while serving put pressure on the Terps’ defenders. When they were capable of getting to the ball, the first touch was often erratic, making things difficult for the setters and, in turn, the hitters.

“I look at Amy and Emily and have full confidence that they can pass that serve,” setter Whitney Craigo said.

Hancock’s ability also made it difficult for the Terps to prepare because no member on the team can replicate her strikes in practice.

“Coach tells us about it, we see it on video,” Dion said. “But until you’re in the moment on that other side of the net with that crowd around you, there’s nothing like it.”

One season ago, Aird — then an assistant coach with the Nittany Lions — didn’t have to concern himself with Hancock. He let the then-junior wreak havoc on the rest of the NCAA, and she led the nation with an average of one ace per set.

This season, despite being the leader of a rival program, Aird still didn’t spend much time scouting Hancock. At the helm of a program in its early stages of development, he had more important things on which to focus.

“When you have a laundry list of things you want to teach and train, that’s an outlier,” Aird said. “So if I spent the last three days in practice only worrying about her serve? It’s one kid on one team who’s exceptional, and I got other things to worry about.”