Megawati's Eid Gift, One Step Towards Glory in South Korea

SUWON, SATURDAY — The journey of Indonesian women's volleyball player, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, is only one step away from reaching the peak of achievement in South Korea. Megawati marked an important and historic moment in her second season by leading Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks to the championship round or the final of the South Korean Volleyball League after a 13-year wait.

After delivering a powerful strike that made the ball difficult for the players of Suwon Hyundai E&C Hillstate to block, Megawati immediately expressed gratitude on the court of Suwon Gymnasium, South Korea. The powerful strike by the player nicknamed "Megatron" secured the 25th point for Red Sparks, ensuring their victory over Hillstate.

In the third match of the 2024-2025 Korean Volleyball League playoffs, Saturday (3/29/2025) afternoon WIB or two days before Eid al-Fitr, the Red Sparks won 3-1 (26-24, 12-25, 25-19, 25-20). Thanks to this victory, the Red Sparks were entitled to advance to the final round with a 2-1 advantage over Hillstate in the best of three format.

The format requires the teams to face each other again in a third match if they each win one of the previous two matches. The third match serves as the deciding game.

This success made the Red Sparks players unable to contain themselves from celebrating together on the field. They were also overwhelmed with emotion. Many shed tears, including Megawati.

It is natural that Megawati was moved. With this victory, Megawati ensured that her determination at the beginning of the season to perform better would soon be realized. After last season bringing the Red Sparks to the playoffs for the first time in 7 years, now Megawati has led the team to go further by reaching the championship round.

Red Sparks advanced to the final round for the first time in 13 years. The last time this team appeared in the final was during the 2011-2012 season. That was Red Sparks' third season playing at the pinnacle stage.

The Red Sparks had two previous opportunities in the 2005 and 2009-2010 seasons. On each occasion of appearing in the final stage, they always returned home with the championship title.

To achieve similar results this season, the Red Sparks must defeat the Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders who qualified directly after topping the regular season standings. The Red Sparks and Pink Spiders will play the final round in a best-of-five format.

The team entitled to claim the championship title is the one that first wins three matches out of a total of five matches played.

Megawati is an excellent player. This was a high-pressure match, but she did what needed to be done. It is a privilege to have Megawati on this team.

"To be champions, we don't have to be at the top straight away. We have to go through the ladder that is in front of us first, but I hope we can rise higher," Megawati was quoted as saying by South Korean media, KBS, at the start of the season.

In the match to decide the final, Megawati performed brilliantly by scoring the highest points, 26 points. Although the effectiveness of Red Sparks' ball reception was still lower than Hillstate's with 20.99 percent compared to 26.67 percent, Megawati's impressive performance made the team superior in attack level.

The Red Sparks recorded an attack rate of 40.74 percent, ahead of Hillstate with 27.07 percent. In addition to Megawati, three other Red Sparks players also performed brilliantly by scoring double digits. They were Vanja Bukilic with 15 points, Park Eun-jin (13), and Jeong Ho-yeong (12).

"Megawati is a great player. It was a high-pressure game, but she did what she had to do. It's a blessing to have Megawati on this team," said Red Sparks coach Ko Hee-jin, quoted from South Korean media, The Spike.

Ko Hee-jin also said that the team's success in advancing to the final round was inseparable from the support of fans who continued to come to away games. In addition, according to Ko Hee-jin, the Red Sparks were also able to advance to the final round because the players trained harder and lived more disciplined during the holidays.

"I'm not someone who cries a lot, but I was touched to see our players in high spirits. Our players showed the fighting spirit of Korean women's volleyball despite not being in good shape," Ko Hee-jin continued.

The Red Sparks were clouded when their star players were injured before the playoffs. Vanja Bukilic, for example, suffered a left ankle injury that kept him out of the rest of the regular season.

His presence in the playoff phase was doubted, although he eventually appeared. However, Bukilic is still not at his best because he has not fully recovered. The Serbian player cannot release hard shots like when he is not injured.

In the second match, Red Sparks could not be strengthened by their mainstay setter, Yeom Hye-seon. Yeom's substitute, Kim Chae-na, was unable to patch the holes in the team. As a result, Red Sparks appeared less fierce, especially in the attack aspect. They lost.

When Yeom returned in the third match, it was libero Noh Ran's turn to get injured. Noh Ran was forced to come off and was replaced by Choi Hyo-seo. This time, Ko Hee-jin made the right decision when Noh Ran couldn't play and saw Choi Hyo-seo looking very depressed. Moreover, the Red Sparks were under pressure after losing the second set.

Ko Hee-jin chose her outside hitter, Park Hye-min, to be the impromptu libero. Park Hye-min, who wore a blue vest to distinguish her from the other players, was able to carry out the task perfectly. The Red Sparks managed to overcome the pressure and secure the victory.

Since the Red Sparks' victory in the first playoff match against Hillstate, history has actually been on Megawati and her friends' side. In the Korean Volleyball League women's category, the team that won the first match in the last 18 playoffs has always advanced to the final round.

However, that valuable capital could not be utilized when the Red Sparks actually lost in the second match at home. To be able to reach the final, Megawati and her friends were forced to fight until the deciding match. Luckily for the Red Sparks, they were able to win the third match.

"I want to put on an exciting performance against the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders in the first final in 13 years. I will make sure that many Red Sparks fans will come and enjoy it," Ko said.

Hillstate Coach Kang Sung-hyung praised the Red Sparks' performance in defeating his team as the defending champion. The Red Sparks, Kang said, showed a strong connection between players.

Kang also said that Megawati performed better than in the second match. This was due to the return of setter Yeom Hye-seon who was able to provide a comfortable flow of the ball to Megawati.

"Hopefully the Red Sparks will show a good game in the upcoming final round," he said.