Red Sparks lost half its strength when they were runners up last season after three mainstay players left, including Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi.
Two mainstay Red Sparks attackers, Megawati and Vanja Bukilic, decided not to extend their contracts for the three time Korean Volleyball League champions. Megawati returned to Indonesia, while Bukilic reportedly played in Europe.
For free transfer players, Red Sparks also lost Pyo Seung Ju. Pyo Seung Ju decided to retire because she did not get an agreement with Red Sparks.
The loss of Megawati, Bukilic, and Pyo Seung Ju has eroded half of the Red Sparks’ strength last season.
Megawati is the club’s top scorer and mainstay weapon in scoring points. In the regular round last season, the player nicknamed Megatron scored 802 points with a successful attack accuracy of 48.06 percent. Megawati’s total points scored last season were 1,020 points.
Meanwhile, Bukilic is one of the Red Sparks strengths both in attacking and receiving the ball. Although playing as an outside hitter, Bukilic is ranked fifth on the list of top scorers in the Korean Volleyball League, Megawati is in third place.
Meanwhile, Pyo Seung Ju has the task of maintaining the balance of attacks from the outside hitter side. Together with Bukilic, Pyo Seung Ju is helping to become an alternative attack for the Red Sparks, besides relying on Megawati.
In the transfer market, the Red Sparks have just acquired Wipawee Srtihong who plays as an outside hitter and is also an Asian quota player. Wipawee’s experience and attacking skill are needed by the Red Sparks.
However, Wipawee who is still recovering from an ankle injury is not yet clear whether she can play from the start of the season or not.
Another task for the Red Sparks is to find a replacement for Megawati who is productive in scoring points and also a replacement for Bukilic and Pyo Seung Ju.
