Shayla Rautenberg may not be quite old enough for a driver’s license, but she is old enough for a gold medal.
The 15-year-old from Pleasant Dale and rising sophomore at Milford High was a member of the United States U19 team at the NORCECA Girls U19 Pan American Cup. The team went 5-0, losing just one set in winning the tournament.
“It was a little stressful, but I’m used to big stages,” Rautenberg said.
She said representing the United States was different, though.
“It was a surreal feeling,” she said. “When I found out, it was shock, excitement, nerves. It was such a crazy experience.”
The team first met in Colorado to practice, so the athletes knew each other. They practiced in December, March and before leaving for Canada for the tournament.
Rautenberg said one of the best parts of the experience was getting to know the other players better.
She was one of the younger team members, but she’s used to being a leader on the court. As a middle hitter, she said, the offense doesn’t come to her position as much. Setting to the outside is easier. Nevertheless, she has to be ready.
“I have to fulfill what I have to do,” she said.
Rautenberg said it didn’t take long to connect with the setters on the team – one who is in the class of 2027 and one who is in 2028.
“I had a good connection with 2028,” she said, adding that the connection with 2027 came with time.
Each setter has a different style, and at the international level, sets are often lower.
“Every ball can be different. At school, everything will be higher,” she said.
Rautenberg only played the front row for Team USA. One of the international rules, however, says the libero can’t serve, so she did play one rotation in the back row when she served. While some teams set hitters out of the back row regularly, Rautenberg said that wasn’t a big part of Team USA’s offense.
The athletes woke up each morning about 7 a.m. and had breakfast before the day’s first film session and early practice. On days without matches, they had a second practice and more film sessions. Some watched film on their own, Rautenberg said.
The team divided by position to go through film, she said. Watching film was a bigger part of preparation than it is at school, she said.
They did have some down time, but most spent it hanging out in their rooms, she said. They also spent some time at a nearby lake.
“It was really cold,” she said with a laugh, adding that most only put their legs in the water.
The last day, however, after winning the championship, the team and some coaches jumped in.
Rautenberg said Team USA was the tallest team in the tournament. USA’s libero was the shortest on the team, and she was 5-8. The rest of the teams averaged 5-10.
Team USA was also one of the younger teams in the tournament, Lisa Rautenberg, Shayla’s mom, said. The tournament MVP from the U.S. was just 14.
“That says a lot,” she said. “We had four freshmen and the rest were sophomores. It’s pretty exciting to get that experience at a young age.”
The offenses Team USA faced were outside-heavy, Shayla said, so the opponents were similar in that respect.
During the tournament June 24-29, Team USA beat Venezuela 25-9, 25-23, 25-21, Mexico 25-21, 25-21, 25-23, Puerto Rico 20-25, 25-20, 25-14, 27-25 and Dominican Republic 25-22, 25-14, 25-20 to advance to the gold medal match. There, the US beat Mexico again 25-21, 25-22, 25-21.
Shayla finished the tournament with 29 kills and seven blocks.
She said Team USA knew it was one of the better teams in the tournament.
“Going in, we thought we’d play Canada in the championship. We really wanted to play them, but Mexico beat them,” she said.
Shayla said her favorite match was the championship game.
“It was the most high energy. It was full effort every ball,” she said.
Team USA played Mexico for the second time in the gold medal match.
“They wanted to beat us,” Shayla said.
When she got home, the whole town of Pleasant Dale turned out to welcome her back.
Shayla didn’t know she’d get to ride into Pleasant Dale on a fire truck when she got home.
“I didn’t know until a friend told me,” she said. “There were so many people there. I didn’t expect it. I made my mom ride on the truck, too.”
Lisa said it was fun to ride the fire truck and to see everyone show up.
Shayla plays volleyball all year. While she was playing for Team USA, her club team finished third at AAU Nationals. School volleyball workouts are starting, with camps in Kentucky, Nebraska and Florida during July. Club starts back up during basketball and track seasons.
“I don’t get tired of volleyball,” Shayla said with a smile.
Looking back over her experience, Shayla said she’s changed her approach as a middle hitter. Instead of focusing on the middle of the court, she said, she now watches the left and right sides more which allows her to move side to side more quickly.
“When you’re not worrying about the middle, you can get where you need,” she said.
