State titles to gold medals: Milford’s Shayla Rautenberg plays key part in Team USA U19, U23 Pan Am Cup volleyball wins

MILFORD, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska volleyball 2028 recruit Shayla Rautenberg led Milford to the top of Class C1 in 2025, and lately, she’s done the same for two different Team USA squads.

On Sept. 6 in Managua, Nicaragua, Rautenberg’s U23 team took home the gold medal of the NORCECA Pan Am Cup in a four-set win over the Dominican Republic.

“It was really fun because the competition was so good,” Rautenberg said at Milford High School on Wednesday. “Especially U23, U19 not so much. But the competition, we haven’t really been challenged yet. So winning in four and not just like sweeping . . . was really cool.”

Rautenberg mentioned sweeping. That’s because her U19 team did just that in Costa Rica during the Pan Am cup in that division. Team USA defeated Canada 3-0, as well as defeating the three other countries faced without dropping a set. Rautenberg said being able to show out on national stages like she has brings a lot of self pride.

“The amount of growth I’ve had since eighth grade is really cool,” Rautenberg said. “So being able to represent Nebraska on such a high level is something that not a lot people can say that they have done.”

On her U19 and U23 teams, Rautenberg said her roommates was Texas commit Ireland Real. She said the two shared from friendly banter because of a certain match which took place while they were together earlier this month.

“When we were at U23, Nebraska played Texas,” Rautenberg said. “They thought they were going to win and I thought we were going to win. And obviously we swept them in the end.”

Additionally, Rautenberg was joined on both teams by fellow future Husker Megan Hodges, while Josalyn Samuels also played on the U19 team.

“Getting a connection with (Hodges and Samuels) before I get to college and then being able to compete against some of my friends is going to be really cool,” Rautenberg said.

But now, Rautenberg can put her full focus back into the Eagles’ season. She said Milford is taking things one game at a time in the quest to repeat as state champions.

“We lost five seniors last year. We don’t go into a game thinking that we’re going to win just because we won last year,” Rautenberg said. “Some of these girls I’ve played with my whole career. So getting to win with them, and winning a state championship is like a feeling that you don’t get to feel every single day. So wanting to match that is always like a goal.”