Anzar High sophomore Katia Dizon and junior Carly Offermann have known each other almost their entire lives—they both attended San Juan School and met each other when Offermann was in the first grade and Dizon in kindergarten—and their friendship started to really blossom in the eighth grade.
They’ve become close enough that when asked a question, they’ll add or even finish each other’s sentences, as if they’re reading each other’s minds. Dizon and Offermann are playing well enough to make Hawks coach Thomas Schatz hopeful the team can finish Mission Trail League play with a .500 record, which would earn it a spot in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Anzar entered the week with a 2-5 league record, meaning it has to go 5-2 the rest of the way to finish with a .500 league mark.
“I think our record could be better than what it is, and by the end of the season hopefully you’ll see a true reflection of what kind of team we can be,” Schatz said.
Dizon and Offermann are both outside hitters, and they’ve made steady progress since the beginning of the season. Offermann expressed a sense of awe in Dizon’s ability to elevate and terminate the ball, while Dizon said she wanted to pass the ball effectively as Offermann one day.
“It’s pretty fun to watch Katia play sometimes,” said Offermann, who is currently nursing an injury but when healthy was one of only two Anzar players—setter Samantha Bleisch is the other—to never come off the court.
Dizon had what Schatz called a “breakout match” in a three-game sweep over Gonzales on Oct. 7. Dizon consistently hammered the ball through, around and over the Gonzales block, a match in which she was virtually unstoppable.
“You could see the lights were starting to flicker for Katia against Soledad (on Oct. 6), and she just went in full bright light mode vs. Gonzales,” Schatz said. “It was amazing to watch her play.”
Physically, Gonzales had no one to match up with Dizon. But it was the mental side of the game where Schatz really felt Dizon started to get in rhythm.
“Things just started clicking for Katia, and it’s a testament to the whole team and the extra work Katia has put in practice,” Schatz said. “Katia and Sam went after it against Gonzales, and their communication has been lights-out. Katia still has a ways to go on when to swing at 100 mph and when to swing at 50 mph, and when to tip and dump, but her decision making has been very good in the last two matches.”
Offermann entered the season as a reserve, but she was inserted into the starting lineup three weeks into the season at the Watsonville tournament. She’s remained a fixture in the rotation ever since, developing into one of the team’s top passers.
Schatz grades his players’ passing on a 0-3 scale, with three being excellent and two good.
“Carly’s passing is very consistent,” Schatz said. “She doesn’t throw up many ones or zeros.”
Besides being solid volleyball players, Dizon and Offermann have this in common: They were both cheerleaders at the school. Dizon was a cheerleader last year and Offermann two years ago and parts of last year. Offerman tried to do both cheerleading and volleyball last year, but ultimately had to quit the former.
“As a co-captain, it was just getting too hard having to leave (cheerleading) practice early to get to volleyball practices or matches,” Offermann said. “I’m glad I ended up cheerleading, though, because it gave me even more of a passion for volleyball.”
Dizon also loved to cheer, but realized nothing could beat the adrenaline rush of jumping high in the air and pulverizing the ball. Although Dizon struggled with her passing earlier in the season, she didn’t mope around.
Instead, Dizon started to stay longer at practices to hone her technique and get more repetitions.
“I’m feeling more confident in everything I do,” Dizon said. “It’s exciting to see that hard work pays off, and as team we’re just going to get better and better.”
The Hawks hope the win over Gonzales serves as a springboard to a strong second-half league run. Anzar used its entire 13-player roster, with Charlotte Andersen, Leslie Martinez and Christina Rosa playing well.
