Megawati "Megatron" Hangestri shocked the first day of the Palembang Series Pro League

Thanks to the great support from the home crowd, Megawati was able to lead her team, Jakarta BIN, to victory.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

The national women's volleyball player, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, made a smash when her team, Jakarta BIN, defeated Jakarta Electric PLN, 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18), in the first day of the 2024 Proliga Palembang series in South Sumatra, at the GOR Palembang Sport and Convention Center on Thursday (9/5/2024).

PALEMBANG, KOMPAS — The presence of national female volleyball player Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi really had a positive impact on the audience's interest Proliga 2024 Palembang series, South Sumatra. Even though the host team, Palembang Bank SumselBabel, has not yet appeared, the residents of "Pempek City" are still enthusiastic about filling the competition arena to watch the female volleyball player nicknamed "Megatron" play live.

This phenomenon was successfully optimized by the team strengthened by Megawati, Jakarta BIN, to beat Jakarta Electric PLN, 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 23-25, 25- 18). Thanks to this victory, Jakarta BIN moved from fifth to fourth in the standings with 7 points. They maintain their hopes of competing to advance to the next round, the final four.

"Thank God, today's children's game was very positive. This victory was thanks to the optimal preparation of the players during training," said Jakarta BIN assistant coach, Labib, in a press conference after the match at the Palembang Sport and Convention Center (PSCC) on Thursday (9/5/2024).

Megawati's splendid performance with the South Korean League volleyball club, Daejeon CheongKwanJang Red Sparks, some time ago, has caused volleyball fever, not least among the people of Palembang. This was really felt in the match between the Jakarta BIN and Jakarta Electric PLN women's teams on the first day of the 2024 Proliga, Palembang series.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Jakarta BIN supporters are fully supporting one of their favorite players, national women's volleyball player Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, as Jakarta BIN defeated Jakarta Electric PLN, 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18), in the first day of the 2024 Proliga series in Palembang, South Sumatra, at the GOR Palembang Sport and Convention Center on Thursday (9/5/2024).

The audience almost filled the PSCC GOR, which has a capacity of around 3,000 seats. Usually, the arena is only filled with spectators when the home team, Palembang Bank SumselBabel, performs.

Not only did the spectators fill the arena, they also actively cheered, especially to encourage Megawati. They repeatedly shouted Megawati's name when the 24-year-old player was about to make a smash or serve.

Thanks to this support, the Jakarta BIN feels at home in their own arena. Megawati and her colleagues feel very comfortable because of the unexpected big support. They can even display their best performance.

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Even though not too forceful, Megawati plays flawlessly. Almost all of her smashes and serves are able to contribute points to the team.

For Labib, the full points gained in the match became a valuable asset to face Jakarta Pertamina Enduro, who are in second place with nine points in the second day of Proliga 2024 Palembang series on Friday (10/5/2024). "We have learned how to play against Pertamina Enduro so we are confident that we can continue this positive trend," he said.

Meanwhile, Megawati acknowledged that she thoroughly enjoyed the game despite the hot weather in Palembang. Regardless of the audience's effect, Megawati evaluated that her team's performance continued to improve compared with the previous two series, namely in Yogyakarta on April 25-28 and Semarang, Central Java, on May 2-5.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

National women's volleyball player, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, and the Jakarta BIN assistant coach, Labib, gave a press statement after Jakarta BIN defeated Jakarta Electric, PLN 3-1, in the first match of the 2024 Proliga series in Palembang, South Sumatra, at the Palembang Sport and Convention Center on Thursday (9/5/2024).

In the previous three matches, Jakarta BIN's graph was not convincing. After winning 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 21-25, 25-15) against Jakarta Livin Mandiri on April 25th, they lost consecutively 1-3 (27-29, 25-16, 17-25, 18-25) to Bandung BJB Tandamata on April 27th and 2-3 (25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 17-25, 7-15) to Jakarta Popsivo Polwan on May 3rd.

"We have improved compared to the past three matches. We have learned from our mistakes in previous matches. The players' solidarity is increasingly growing, not only on the field but also off the field," said Megawati.

Also read: Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi Looks at Second Season in Korea

Seize the top of the standings

From another match, Jakarta Popsivo Polwan successfully dethroned Jakarta Pertamina Enduro from the top of the rankings. Jakarta Popsivo Polwan jumped from third place to first place with 11 points.

The result was thanks to a convincing 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-21, 25-16) against Bandung BJB Tandamata. On the other hand, Bandung BJB Tandamata slipped down from second place to third place with 6 points.

Jakarta Popsivo Polwan coach Lardi said that the victory was thanks to improving all of the team's weaknesses in the previous three matches. In reality, they were able to sweep all three victories, namely 3-1 (29-27, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18) against Gresik Petrokimia Pupuk Indonesia on April 26, a 3-2 win (19-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-17, 15-7) against Jakarta BIN on May 3, and 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-20) over Jakarta Pertamina Enduro on May 4.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

The match between Jakarta Popsivo Polwan (in black) and Bandung BJB Tandamata on the first day of the 2024 Proliga series in Palembang, South Sumatra, at the Palembang Sport and Convention Center on Thursday (9/5/2024).

However, the result of Jakarta BIN's victory over Jakarta Popsivo Polwan with a score of 3-2 is quite regrettable as it only adds 2 extra points for the latter. "Alhamdulillah, today we played more solidly. Hopefully, this positive trend can be maintained as preparation before facing the tougher second round where other teams will surely try to make changes with their foreign players," he said.

According to Lardi, the contribution of their two foreign players, namely the outside hitter from Russia, Irina Voronkova, and the outside hitter from the United States, Madison Kingdon Rishel, was very large.

We have improved compared to the last three games. We have learned from mistakes in previous matches.

Also read: Time for the 2024 Pro League to Take Advantage of Volleyball Enthusiasm

"Thanks to their impressive performance, the local players consisting of a combination of senior and junior players have become more confident in showcasing their best abilities," he said.

As stated by Lardi, the setter of Jakarta Popsivo Polwan, Annisa Siti Rahmawati, said that the two foreign players really helped her and her colleagues appear more confident. That's valuable capital to achieve their short-term target, namely reaching the final four.