Megawati powers Red Sparks to two big victories in V League

The Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks enjoyed a massive week in the V League, defeating both defending champions Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders and runners-up Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate.

The Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks' Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi, left, attacks during a V League game against the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks enjoyed a massive week in the V League, defeating both defending champions Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders and runners-up Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate.

Despite both falling victim to the rising Red Sparks last week, the Hillstate still managed to snatch the top position from the Pink Spiders.

The Red Sparks faced the Pink Spiders at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on Thursday and grabbed a 3-2 victory after a fierce contest.

The Pink Spiders won the first set 25-21, but the remaining sets were neck-and-neck.

After tying the score at 24-24 during the second set, the Pink Spiders broke the deadlock and won it 28-26. The Daejeon side then bounced back to take the third set 25-22 and thrashed the Pink Spiders 25-7 in the fourth set.

The score tied at 14-14 during the fifth set and the Red Sparks won it 18-16 for a final score of 3-2.

The Red Sparks’ opposite hitter Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi — who joined the squad ahead of the 2023-24 season through the Asian Quota Draft — was once again the hero of the game, scoring 31 points on her own.

Mega was the top scorer of the game, surpassing the Pink Spiders’ Jelena Mladjenovic’s 26.

The Indonesian opposite hitter has proved to be the most effective Asian Quota Draft pick so far this season, having managed 95 points alone — the most by any Asian Quota player.

The Red Sparks then pulled off an even more impressive performance against Hillstate on Sunday, thrashing them 3-0 after grabbing three sets 25-22, 25-21 and 25-16.

Mega was again the top scorer of the game with 22 points.

The Red Sparks have won three of the four games since the start of the 2023-24 season, with their only loss against the GS Caltex Seoul KIXX on Oct. 20.

With the Daejeon side displaying one of the best performances in the league, this season may be the first time that the team reaches the postseason since 2017.

The Daejeon side sit in fourth place on the seven-team table with eight points as of Monday.

Hillstate have played five games — one or two more than the rest of the teams — in total and sit at the top with 10 points.

Despite the 3-0 humiliating loss, the Suwon side managed 3-1 a win on Wednesday against last season’s championship winners Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass.

Elsewhere, the KIXX had a successful run, beating the Hwaseong IBK Altos 3-1 on Oct. 24 and the Gwangju AI Peppers 3-2 on Friday.

The V League will continue this week as the Pink Spiders take on the KIXX at Jangchung Arena in central Seoul on Tuesday. The Incheon side, sitting in second place one point below Hillstate, will reclaim the top position if they manage a victory.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]