Megawati and Santi Named as Strong Women's Volleyball Team for Thailand's SEA Games

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Among the 18 names called by the Indonesian Volleyball Association for the preparation of the women's national volleyball team for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, two of them are Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi and Junaida Santi. These two names represent a combination of experienced senior players and promising junior players.

The Vice Chairman of Development and Achievement of the Central Board of PBVSI, Loudry Maspaitella, stated that the mandatory players have arrived at the Volleyball Padepokan in Sentul, Bogor, on October 23, 2025. Following this, they will undergo health tests on October 24-25 to ensure that all players are in optimal condition before intensive training begins.

"On October 26-27, 2025, they will depart for Medan. The national training camp in Medan will take place from October 28 to November 2025," said Loudry to the PBVSI public relations, Thursday (9/10/2025).

Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi is one of the names called to undergo the training camp. Megawati was called along with players who have experience with the senior national team, such as Mediol Yoku and Arneta Putri Amelian.

According to Loudry, the presence of senior players such as Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi is expected to serve as the main driving force for the team. Loudry also hopes that Megawati will be a role model for the young players who have just joined.

Relying solely on Megawati is actually not enough to boost the performance of the national team. Megawati is indeed a highly experienced Indonesian women's volleyball player, particularly with her career abroad, ranging from leagues in Thailand, Vietnam, to South Korea.

In her two seasons in South Korea with the Red Sparks, for example, Megawati was the team's mainstay in every match. In her inaugural season, Megawati led the Red Sparks to the playoffs for the first time in seven years. A season later, the Jember, East Java native led the Red Sparks to the finals.

Given Megawati's impressive achievements in South Korea, it's no wonder her presence on the national team has raised expectations. In the Southeast Asian tournament, the SEA V League 2025, last August, Megawati was quite the backbone of the team, alongside outside hitters Mediol Yoku and Ersandrina Devega, contributing a total of 28 points in the second round.

However, that contribution is not enough to improve the national team's performance. Overall, the team still often shows inconsistency in both attacking and defending. The aspect of communication remains a problem.

Indonesia ultimately finished in fourth place in the final standings of the SEA V League. From six matches, Indonesia failed to secure a single victory. Megawati Hangestri and her teammates could only manage to steal two sets.

If we look at the players called up, the women's national team should be able to rely not only on Megawati. Loudry stated that the players selected are a combination of experienced senior players and promising young talents.

Previously, Loudry had indeed considered the option of forming such a combination for the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. At that time, one of the reasons was that the junior players who were part of the U-21 women's team were undergoing a longer preparation period with high intensity under coach Marcos Sugiyama. Marcos Sugiyama will now serve as the coach of the national women's team for the SEA Games.

This Brazil-Japan descent coach will be assisted by an experienced coaching team, including Pedro B Lilipaly as assistant coach 1 and the living legend of the women's national team, Wilda Siti Nurfadilah Sugandi, as assistant coach 2.

Ten of the 18 players called up are juniors who competed alongside Sugiyama at the 2025 Women's U-21 Volleyball World Championship in Surabaya, East Java, last August. One of them is Junaida Santi, an outside hitter who has been touted as a potential successor to Megawati.

This 18-year-old player has made her mark in the Indonesian professional volleyball league, Proliga 2025. Not only did she lead Jakarta Pertamina Enduro to victory in Proliga 2025, but Santi also played a key role in the convincing win of Jakarta Pertamina Enduro over Jakarta Popsivo Polwan in the final match.

In the final match, her powerful strikes contributed 12 points for Pertamina Enduro, the second highest on the team after the Olympic gold medalist from Tokyo, Jordan Thompson (15). Santi's attack effectiveness also reached 54.5 percent.

Santi's high jump and powerful shot are indeed his main weapons. Opponents often struggle to block his shots. He was even named the most valuable player (MVP) of the 2025 Proliga.

At the World Championship, Santi also performed brilliantly. Santi ranked 17th on the list of top scorers with a total of 112 points. The breakdown includes 104 from attacks, 4 from blocks, and the remaining 4 from serves.

Santi became the second-highest scorer on the U-21 team after her opponent, Pascalina Mahuze, who ranked ninth with 129 points (117 attacks, 7 blocks, 5 serves). Like Santi, Pascalina was also called up to the SEA Games training camp.

Chelsea Berliana joined Santi and Pascalina. At the World Championships, the middle blocker proved to be an alternative option outside of the attacking wing positions, scoring a total of 61 points (38 attacks, 15 blocks, and 8 serves).

The manager of the women's national team in the SEA V League and former national team player, Lucinana Taroreh, stated that the players will complement each other if the squad is a combination of senior and junior players who are part of the U-21 team. They will form the best squad.

Moreover, the results at the U-21 World Championship demonstrated the potential of the U-21 team. The squad coached by Sugiyama met the target of reaching the round of 16 out of a total of 24 participants in their debut at the global event.

Although the results are not free from the impact of Vietnam's embarrassing scandal, Indonesia's performance is also commendable. Out of a total of nine matches, they suffered seven defeats. Four of these consistently ended in tight five-set contests.

In addition to the names of senior players and those who previously strengthened the U-21 team, there are also new names such as Khanza Putri (15) and Naisya Pratama Putri (17). These two young players caught attention at the 2025 U-16 Women's Volleyball National Championship and the 2025 Livoli Division I.

The following is a list of 18 women's volleyball players who were called up to the 2025 SEA Games National Training Center.

1. Zahwa Aliah Jasmien (U-21)

2. Indah Guretno Dwi Margiani (U-21)

3. Maradanti Namira (U-21)

4. Chelsa Nurtomo Berliana (U-21)

5. Geofany Eka Chayaningtyas   (U-21)

6. Rika Dwi Latri

7. Pascalina Mahuze (U-21)

8. Kadek Diva Yanti Putri Ardiantana (U-21)

9. Ersandrina Devega Salsabila

10. Mediol Stiovanny Yoku

11. Naisya Pratama Putri

12. Syelomitha Afrilaliza Wongkar (U-21)

13. Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi

14. Khanza Putri Yansi Ganeshtri

15. Arneta Putri Amelian

16. Yolana Bheta Pengestika

17. Ajeng Nur Cahaya (U-21)

18. Junaida Santi (U-21)