On the first serve of the game, Kifer sailed one out of bounds, giving Traister an early 1-0 lead. The game then went back and forth, until Traister was able to pull out another point on a beautiful save off of the wall.
After a few back and forths, and some nice saves, the game saw Kifer leading 6-3.
After a Traister point, which would be his last for a good deal of time, Kifer went on a 4-0 run to give himself a game point at 10-4.
But, a few bad bounces and some mistakes by Kifer would not allow him to get that Championship point, while Traister was playing mistake-free volleypingball.
A time-out by Traister's mom, Sandy, seemed to be the key for Traister as he came out of it and scored two points to make it 10-6. A few more Kifer mistakes, coupled with some bad bounces out of bounds, allowed to gap to close to 10-9.
At 10-9, with Traister serving, Kifer spiked one in a line-drive fashion at the wall behind Traister. A nice effort by Traister though was not enough, and it was Kifer's serve.
The serve was an easy serve, Traister playing it well up along the side of the table. After a set with his left hand he hammered the ball into the top of the net, allowing the celebration to begin.
"This really is a great tournament for the VPBA", said Traister after his defeat. "I am now focusing on winning my exhibition matches, and preparing for the Christmas Tornament. I also want to congratulate Dustin on an outstanding victory. He played a very good game, and when it was all said and done, I guess he just played better. "
"I am so pumped right now", was Josh Meeker's respone (Josh is a devoted and loyal fan of volleypingball) last evening. "I was cheering for Dustin the whole way, and I'm so glad he pulled out the victory."
"It feels great", said Kifer when asked about his victory after being drenched with champagne (sparkling grape juice). "First of all I'd just like to thank Russ for giving me such a great game. I'd also like to thank Mary Jane for her coaching that really kept me calm in what could have been a very nerve-racking time (and for buttoning up my tear-away pants). I want to thank everyone for coming, and thanks to the cheerleaders for cheering on both competitors. I'm really looking forward to the Christmas Tournament coming up, it looks like were going to have a pretty big field of competitors
for this tourney."
Mary Jane Eaton, Dustin's "coach" for the evening had this to say about his play: " He really handled the pressure very well. He made a few mistakes in times where he could have won the game, but he really pulled through. Don't take anything away from Russ, he's a great player, and really has a bright road ahead. Plus, with someone as good-looking as Dustin, how could he lose!!" (Russ was heard later making that same comment)
That's all from Kifer Fieldhouse, and we look forward to covering the Christmas Tournament next month.