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Rautenberg's Prolific Attacking Helps Milford Repeat as State Champs

The 6-foot-4 junior middle blocker recorded 93 attacks over three matches while winning a title on her future home court.
Lincoln Arneal|
Milford junior Shayla Rautenberg waves to the crowd before the Class C1 semifinal match. The Husker commit averaged 9.3 kills per set in the three matches.
Milford junior Shayla Rautenberg waves to the crowd before the Class C1 semifinal match. The Husker commit averaged 9.3 kills per set in the three matches. | Courtesy photo

After Milford’s attack was blocked, libero Libbie Reil kept the play alive by popping the ball up but sent it backward. Adalyn Cisneros chased it down and bump-set it over her head toward the center of the court. 

The safe play would have been to send a free ball over and play for another rally, but Shayla Rautenberg had other ideas. The 6-foot-4 junior wound up and unleashed a full attack that ricocheted off the Omaha Concordia block and fell to the floor. The kill was Rautenberg’s 40th of the match on her 79th attack and sent the Eagles back to the Class C1 championship match. 

“I really like to swing, to be honest,” Rautenberg said. “I don’t like to tip, but if I can see that it’s open and like I can get a kill with it, I’m gonna do it.”

The following day, Rautenberg and Milford won their second straight state title with a 25-23, 28-26, 25-14 victory over Aurora. For the tournament, the 2028 Nebraska commit finished with 93 kills over 10 sets, to go with a .346 hitting percentage on 185 attacks during the three matches. 

The 40 kills weren’t even a season high for Rautenberg. She recorded 45 kills against Thayer Central in a four-set victory in the Southern Nebraska conference championship match. Rautenberg said she doesn’t mind the heavy attacking workload. She wants her teammates to count on her in the big moments. 

“If we can’t put a ball down, I want to be the one that can do it,” she said. “Having them be able to rely on me is more pressure, but I think I play better under pressure. I just really love when my team can rely on me.”

While she’s one of the best attackers in the state, Rautenberg contributed to the Eagles’ success in many ways. She is listed as a middle blocker in the program, but plays all over the court.

Rautenberg, who is the daughter of Nebraska All-American Lisa Reitsma, runs quick attacks in the middle of the court and also swings from the pin and back row. She is an elite front-row defender, provides floor coverage from her center-back position, and can also be a weapon from the service line. For the state tournament, Rautenberg finished with 14 blocks, 16 digs and four aces. 

Milford coach Emily Restau talks to her team before the Class C-1 state championship match at John Cook Arena.
Milford coach Emily Restau talks to her team before the Class C-1 state championship match at John Cook Arena. The Eagles won their second straight title with a sweep over Aurora. | Courtesy photo

Milford coach Emily Restau said Rautenberg has improved greatly as a player and also stepped up more as a leader on the team. 

“We focus a lot on her strengths, but her weaknesses are something that we focus a lot on,” Restau said. “She loves defense now, and those are the parts where it really compels our team. If she gets a dig in the back row, it’s just like, ‘Okay, momentum’s going to be ours now.’”

Even with Rautenberg on the court, it wasn’t a given that Milford would be back in the state title game defending their crown. She missed the first week of September while helping the United States U23 national team win the Pan Am Cup in Nicaragua. 

When she returned, Milford struggled, dropping three of six matches over a week in September. Restau said they were working through positions and adjusting to new responsibilities. 

Junior Braelynn Muller had been playing middle blocker with her club team, but moved back to setter in a 6-2 system with freshman Adi Upton. In addition, freshman outside hitter Bryn Grossart recorded nine kills in the semifinal win over Concordia. Freshman Alexis Upton also delivered a clutch kill to put the Eagles up 27-26 in a tight second set against Aurora in the title match. 

Rautenberg said she was proud of how the freshmen performed on the biggest stage of the season. 

“I couldn’t really tell that they were nervous,” she said. “I was nervous my sophomore year, and they’re freshmen, so coming in and taking on a big role, I’m really proud of them.”

Even though the Eagles won state championships in volleyball and basketball last year, this year’s volleyball title meant a little more to her. Milford had to retool after losing five seniors to graduation and fought through mid-season struggles before coming out on top of a talented state tournament field. Rautenberg also won the title on her future home court at John Cook Arena after she committed to the Huskers earlier this summer. 

Since she committed to the Huskers in June, Rautenberg said it’s been wild how much more she’s been recognized and asked to take pictures with other people. 

“There’s definitely a lot more people who know me, which is kind of crazy and kind of weird,” she said. “It’s just gonna get more from here. These girls have such a big role here at Nebraska, and little girls look up to them. I’m just really excited to be one of those people.”

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Lincoln Arneal
LINCOLN ARNEAL

Lincoln Arneal covers Nebraska volleyball for HuskerMax and posts on social media about the Big Ten and national volleyball stories. He previously covered the program for Huskers Illustrated and the Omaha World-Herald and is a frequent guest on local and national sports talk shows and podcasts. Lincoln hosts the Volleyball State Podcast with Jeff Sheldon.

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