The Women's National Volleyball Team's Last Hope

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, SATURDAY — There is only one hope left for the national women's volleyball team to achieve victory in the first round of the SEA V League 2025. A win against the Philippines is not only needed to heal the disappointment from losses to Vietnam and Thailand, but also to maintain the chance of not returning home as the bottom team.

Indonesia will face the Philippines in the final match of the first round at Terminal 21 Korat, Nakhon Ratchasima, on Sunday (2/8/2025). A crucial victory for Indonesia, which is currently in last place in the temporary standings after suffering consecutive defeats in the first two matches.

After suffering a heavy defeat against Vietnam, 0-3 (11-25, 11-25, 22-25), in the first match on Friday, Indonesia faced another loss in the second match the following day. Competing against Thailand, which fielded a second-string team, the squad coached by Octavian could only secure one set and lost the next three sets.

Ersandrina Devega and her teammates were actually close to stealing another victory in the third set. However, they ultimately lost with a score of 1-3 (25-22, 15-25, 25-27, 12-25).

From the beginning, coach Octavian has indeed stated that the mindset of the women's national team when facing Thailand is to learn to match the opponent. This is because Thailand remains the strongest women's team in Southeast Asia, with a level of play above that of Indonesia.

However, Thailand fielded a second-string squad in preparation for facing Vietnam in their final match. This situation was attempted to be exploited by Indonesia to secure a victory, although ultimately it was only by one set.

Although it has not yet led to victory, the success of winning the first set is a positive achievement for the women's national team. So dominant is Thailand that Indonesia last managed to win a set in the inaugural edition of the SEA V League, which was previously known as the ASEAN Grand Prix, in 2019.

Now, with the defeats against Vietnam and Thailand, Indonesia is at the bottom of the temporary standings with no points. The Philippines, which also lost to Thailand and Vietnam, similarly has no points. However, the Philippines is positioned one level above Indonesia because they managed to secure two sets.

The SEA V Women's League is only participated in by four teams, namely Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Each team will face each other in this two-round tournament.

After being held in Thailand until August 3, the SEA V League 2025 will continue in Vietnam from August 8 to 10. In each round, the team at the top of the standings will be declared the champion. Points from the two rounds will be accumulated to determine the final positions of the teams in the standings.

The top position in the standings of the SEA V League 2025 first round is occupied by Vietnam, which has collected six points with only one set lost. Thailand ranks second with six points and has lost two sets.

Vietnam and Thailand will also meet to contest the championship title of the first round of the SEA V League 2025. Meanwhile, Indonesia and the Philippines will face each other to determine the third and fourth positions.

"If we face the Philippines, we must win. Because in its history, the women's national team lost to the Philippines just last year in the SEA V League. Yesterday in the AVC Nations Cup, we also lost due to minimal preparation and an incomplete roster," said Octavian.

"Hopefully, with the preparations that have been undertaken and the recovery of Megawati (Hangestri) and others, we can maintain the tradition of winning against the Philippines," he stated again.

Indonesia lost 1-3 and 2-3 to the Philippines in the 2024 SEA V League. These defeats left Indonesia to settle for a fourth-place finish in the standings.

The women's national team suffered another defeat to the Philippines in the 2025 AVC Nations Cup, an inter-Asian tournament, last June. Indonesia lost 1-3 and could only finish fifth, while the Philippines finished as runners-up.

"Our focus is to continue to develop and perform better against the Philippines. The team must play aggressively and discipline in executing both attacking and defending strategies. Hopefully, we can excel over the Philippines," said the women's national team manager and former national volleyball player, Luciana Taroreh.

In addition to avenging the defeats in the previous three encounters, a victory over the Philippines is crucial for Indonesia to maintain its chances of participating in the AVC Nations Cup 2026. Only two tickets are available to qualify for the event.

If Thailand and Vietnam finish as the two best teams, Indonesia can only compete for third place. Thailand qualifies directly due to their participation in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL). As a result, the remaining ticket belongs to the third-ranked team.