Venisa Dwi Oktaviani, young Indonesian volleyball player
Jakarta, IO – After impressing the fans and opponents at the 2026 AVC U-18 Girls Championship and the Princess Cup in Thailand, Venisa Dwi Oktaviani has earned her first call-up to Indonesia’s senior women’s national volleyball team for the 2026 SEA V Cup.
Venisa was one of five players from Indonesia’s U-18 squad selected for the senior team trials, in addition to Tina Syifa Sabila Salim and Khanza Putri. Head coach Marcos Sugiyama eventually chose the 16-year-old outside hitter for the final roster.
Indonesia will compete in the SEA V Cup in Hanoi, Vietnam (July 31– August 2) and Chiang Mai, Thailand (August 7–9), after playing a series of invitational matches against South Korea in Korea, from July 23–26.
“I never expected to be called up for the national team trials, let alone make the final squad,” said Venisa, known as Veve, during the team’s send-off ceremony at the Jenderal Polisi Kunarto Volleyball Training Center in Sentul, Bogor, on Sunday.
Born in Bekasi, West Java, on Oc – tober 3, 2009, the 174-centimeter-tall player began her volleyball career with Kencana Jaya. Due to her rapid development, she made her professional debut with Jakarta Livin’ Mandiri in the 2024 Proliga season, before joining Jakarta Popsivo Polwan for the 2025–2026 campaign.
At the national team, Veve will compete for a place among experienced outside hitters, including Medi Yoku, one of her idols, as well as Azzahra Dwi “Gendis” Febyane, Ersandrina “Caca” Devega Salsabila, and Putri Nur Hidayati Agustin.
“Technically, Veve deserves her place in the senior national team. She also has a very powerful jump serve,” said team manager Luciana Taroreh, a member of Indonesia’s gold medal-winning squad at the 1983 SEA Games.
Taroreh added that Veve’s biggest challenge now is developing the mental strength needed to compete at the senior international level.
Veve said she was both surprised and proud to join the national team and was grateful for the warm welcome. “The senior players have been very supportive. We’ve had no issues building chemistry, and I’ll do my best if I’m given the chance to play,” she said.
The Indonesian Volleyball Association (PBVSI) aims to finish as a runner-up at the 2026 SEA V Cup.
PBVSI chairman Imam Sudjarwo said the target was based on Indonesia’s encouraging performance at the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup, where the team finished , after defeating Australia in straight sets and pushed Vietnam to five sets, before narrowly losing.
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Sugiyama also believed that his players understood one another well after competing together at the AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup. “I’ve told the players to be confident heading into the SEA V Cup. After the AVC tournament, they will come to know each other much better, so we don’t need much time to build chemistry,” the Japanese coach said.
Team captain Tisya Amallya Putri expressed that confidence has allowed her teammates to play without pressure.
“We can’t let pressure affect us. I keep telling the team to enjoy every match, so we can perform at our best. We’ve had preparation and we’ll do everything we can to achieve the best possible result,” she said.
Good luck, Venisa, Tisya and friends! (rp)