Megawati Hangestri's Fourth Final Match, A Test to Break Through the Limits of Ability

DAEJEON, SATURDAY — Playing consecutive matches under high pressure is like a test for Indonesian women's volleyball player, Megawati Hangestri, in South Korea. In the fourth match of the final round, which once again becomes a do-or-die game, Megawati will be tested further to push the limits of her abilities.

Megawati and her team, Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks, will play their fourth match in the final round of the 2024-2025 Korean Volleyball League on Saturday (6/4/2025). Megawati and her teammates must secure a victory against Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders to keep their chances of winning the championship alive.

With the Pink Spiders leading 2-1 on aggregate, a Red Sparks win in the fourth match at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon will force a fifth match to determine the champion. The Korean Volleyball League finals are a best-of-five format, with the team that wins three matches first taking home the trophy.

However, the match is certain to be challenging. The burden and pressure clearly loom over the Red Sparks players, including Megawati. On the other hand, their physical condition has also begun to decline.

The Red Sparks players were exhausted and played through pain, even as they secured a 3-2 victory (21-25, 34-36, 25-22, 25-19, 15-11) over the Pink Spiders in the third match on Friday (4/4/2025). In the match that lasted 2 hours and 34 minutes, the physical condition of Megawati and her teammates had already declined.

Moreover, they have to play 6 matches in a row in 12 days. The break between each match is only two days. That includes the playoff matches that take place three times.

The Pink Spiders experienced a different condition. The team coached by Marcello Abondanz had the advantage of a longer rest period. As the regular phase champions, they were entitled to advance directly to the final round without going through the playoffs.

In addition to their declining physical condition, the Red Sparks players are also plagued by injuries. Those who were injured during the regular phase, such as Vanja Bukilic, have not yet fully recovered. The Red Sparks coach, Ko Hee-jin, stated that even Megawati has not been spared from injuries and fatigue.

Megawati is also human, so she can't help but get tired. How many times has she thrown a punch since the playoffs? However, she has great mental strength.

However, despite her less than optimal physical condition, Megawati was able to push herself to perform brilliantly. The player from Jember, East Java, scored up to 40 points during the third match against Pink Spiders. Megawati's number of points made her the top scorer of the match.

Interestingly, when informed that her score had reached 40 points, Megawati simply did not believe it. The 25-year-old player seemed unable to believe her own achievement.

With 40 points, Megawati is approaching her personal scoring record for two seasons in the “Land of Ginseng”. Megawati's best record was 44 points when she defeated Altos IBK in January.

Not only the large number of points, Megawati's attack effectiveness was also high. Out of 81 attempted attacks, 38 of them resulted in points. This means that Megawati recorded a success rate of 46.91 percent. Megawati's other two points came from successfully blocking the ball.

"Megawati is also human, so she can't handle fatigue. How many times has she thrown punches since the playoffs? But she has great mental strength. When else will I meet a player who is in pain, but says she is fine and playing well?" Ko was quoted as saying by Korean media outlet The Spike.

Ko also praised the team as a whole who were willing to play with high fighting spirit. "If (the players) were in normal physical condition, I would not be able to express it as something touching. This was a great match created by the injured players. I salute the fighting spirit of the players," said Ko.

Regarding Megawati, Ko said that the player nicknamed “Megatron” by fans had pain in her knee. However, she seemed to forget the pain to perform brilliantly with the Red Sparks.

Megawati also received additional motivation from her boyfriend who is also an athlete, Dio Novandra. Megawati was watched live by Dio, an Indonesian finswimming athlete, at the stadium.

"Megawati had pain in her knee. Meanwhile, the team was behind in the first two sets (in the third match). I then told Megawati about her boyfriend who came to watch the match," Ko said, as quoted by Yonhap.

"I said, 'Wouldn't it be a shame if he went home after watching just one match?' Megawati was excited again. The power of love is extraordinary," he said again.

The third match of the final round was a test that Megawati and her friends successfully passed. Now, Megawati will be tested again in the fourth match, a test to break through her limits again.

Megawati also expressed her hope to be able to play better in the upcoming match. "I want to play happily, not think too much," she said.

Meanwhile, Pink Spiders are haunted by bad memories of the finals two seasons ago. At that time, Pink Spiders won the first two matches against Gimcheon Korea Expressway Corporation Hi-pass. However, in the third to fifth matches, they lost.

The bad memories have been haunting the Pink Spiders even before the third match. However, Pink Spiders coach Marcello Abondanz prefers to think positively.

"Like two years ago, anything can happen. We will focus on each game, prepare for each game as a new chapter," Abondanz said.