Prep volleyball: Windom Area wins Mankato West Tournament

MANKATO - In a loaded, 12-team tournament at Mankato West on Saturday, Windom Area emerged a champion.
The Eagles went 4-0 and even handed one team its first loss of the season en route to the title.
“We like to get into these tournaments because of the competition,” Windom Area coach Ron Wendorff said. “It was a great experience.”
Sibley East gave the Eagles a tough test right away. After they won the first set, the Wolverines forced them to score 32 points to take the sweep. Windom Area ended it with a 32-30 victory and improved to 2-0 in pool play with a 25-22, 25-13 victory against St. Clair.
That put the Eagles in the gold bracket where they opened against previously undefeated Martin County West. They moved onto the title bout in straight-set fashion. Against the hosting Scarlets in the championship game, Windom Area lost the opener 25-20 but bounced back for wins of 25-19 and 15-13.
“They were all pretty tight and the girls managed to come out on top in almost every set,” Wendorff said. “I’m really proud of their effort.”
Freshman middle hitter Becca Hacker had a good all-around day for the Eagles. She finished with 10 solo blocks, 15 kills, 24 set assists and 17 digs. Porsha Porath added 14 solo blocks with 23 kills. Lauren Huset was good on 37-of-39 serves with four aces to go with 50 set assists. Madison Maras also dropped in four service aces while contributing 16 kills and 28 digs. Morgan Hockel added 22 kills while libero Sydnee Broberg had 28 digs.
The Eagles (9-1 overall, 3-0 Big South Conference) play host to Luverne at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.