Megawati Hangestri's Heavy Burden in a Life and Death Match

The burden on the shoulders of Indonesia's women's volleyball player, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, is growing heavier. Two matches that ended in defeat must be compensated with a series of victories. Megawati and her teammates are required to rise and shoulder the burden together to keep their championship chances alive.

Megawati and Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks will play the third match against Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders in the 2024-2025 Korean Volleyball League championship or final phase, Friday (4/4/2025). For Megawati and her friends, this is a life and death match because it determines their fate in the final phase.

The final round of the Korean Volleyball League is held in a best-of-five format. The team that is entitled to win the title is the team that first wins three matches out of the total five matches played.

With that format, Pink Spiders only need one more victory to secure the championship title. Meanwhile, Red Sparks must not lose again if they wish to keep their chances alive of lifting the trophy after a 13-year wait.

The burden on Megawati's shoulders is increasingly heavy. Moreover, on paper, Pink Spiders are superior to Red Sparks with two victories in the initial matches. Even during the regular phase, Pink Spiders excelled by defeating Red Sparks four times in six encounters.

Even so, Megawati should not bear that burden alone despite being the team's key player. Red Sparks can reflect on their third-week match when they won 3-1 (22-25, 23-25, 25-13, 22-25) during an away game.

Megawati scored 18 points and became the decisive factor for victory through her blocks and powerful strikes during crucial moments at the end of the match. Megawati's attack success rate also reached 47.22 percent.

The 25-year-old player was not alone. Vanja Bukilic also delivered an impressive performance by becoming the top scorer with 33 points. Bukilic recorded an attack effectiveness of 48.39 percent.

From the defensive side, Red Sparks libero, Noh Ran, also performed excellently by recording a ball reception effectiveness of 44.44 percent. She also made 25 ball saves with a success rate of 67.57 percent.

Megawati herself is determined to finish her second season in Korea happily. Moreover, there is a possibility that this season will be Megawati's last appearance in the "Land of Ginseng".

"I mostly watch happy romantic comedies or melodramas in Korean dramas. I want to end this season with a happy ending," Megawati said, as quoted by Chosun.

Megawati and Red Sparks started their journey in the final round of the South Korean Volleyball League with negative results. They suffered two consecutive defeats in matches held at their opponent's home base at the Samsan World Gymnasium, Incheon, Monday (31/3/2025) and Wednesday (2/4/2025).

In the first match, Red Sparks lost badly 0-3 (21-25, 22-25, 19-25). Megawati “only” contributed 13 points. The effectiveness of her attack was at 32.26 percent. Megawati's teammate, a fellow foreign player, Vanja Bukilic, recorded the highest points with 17 points with an attack success rate of 42.86 percent.

However, the record was still lower than Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders player, Kim Yeon-kyung, who recorded an attack effectiveness of 60.87 percent. The player nicknamed the “Queen of Korean Volleyball” produced 16 points.

However, Megawati was able to rise in the second match. This was proven by the impressive statistics of the player from Jember, East Java. From 13 points in the first match, Megawati produced 25 points in the second match.

With 25 points, Megawati became the top scorer in the match. The effectiveness of her attacks in the match that lasted two hours and 14 minutes also increased to 43.40 percent.

Megawati's impressive performance made Red Sparks lead in the first two sets. However, Megawati and her friends failed to maintain their advantage in the next set. The situation turned around starting in the third set and Red Sparks suffered a second defeat.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't play well in the first match, but we played well today," Red Sparks coach Ko Hee-jin was quoted as saying by Korean media outlet Yonhap.

"Our players' fighting spirit is commendable. We lost our stamina since the third set. The players were tired, but I respect them for not showing it and smiling," he said again.

According to Ko Hee-jin, Kim Yeon-koung's brilliant performance in the fifth set was the key to the opponent's victory. Kim, who did not score many points in the first and second sets, led the team to a comeback by scoring 18 points from the third to fifth sets.

In the third set, Kim led the team to five straight points with a sharp serve. In the final set, the player who is one of Megawati's idols showed her prowess by scoring 6 points on her own.

However, Ko Hee-jin is determined to bring the team back to life in the third match which will be held at the Red Sparks' home ground at the Chungm Gymnasium in Daejeon. Ko does not want the Red Sparks' first time advancing to the final in 13 years to end in a crushing defeat.

"I will not give up for the fans. I will not let this final round end with three losses for the first time in 13 years. I will win the match, no matter what," he said again.