No challenge on the volleyball court could deter Erika Sayer from her goals.

But, in addition to thriving on the court, Sayer’s road to Stanford University required her to complete eight Advanced Placement classes while at Village High School.

Challenge accepted and mission accomplished.

Sayer fulfilled her AP requirement and will head to California next fall where she’ll play volleyball for the Cardinal after signing her letter of intent Wednesday during National Signing Day.

“Having to work through that was rough but it was really fun,” Sayer said. “All of my teachers here were very helpful with figuring out how to get me into their classes and that helped with the process.”

Sayer’s list of AP classes included: human geography, literature, psychology, biology, language, statistics, environmental science and government.

During her four years at Village, Sayer also operated as one of the voices to start the Mountaineers’ girls volleyball team, which will play at the 3A state tournament at Denver Coliseum on Thursday.

Being a trailblazer and scholar at Village was “exhausting, but worthwhile” for Sayer, and she’s thankful to have a portion of the process complete.

“My support system is amazing,” Sayer said. “My parents, my coaches, teachers and teammates have all been there for me. Whenever I have struggled, I’ve had them as a net to lean back on to catch me.”

Sayer’s teammates Olivia Plentl and Lillian Edwards also signed letters of intent to play collegiate volleyball.

Plentl will head to South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City, S.D., while Edwards will compete for Wingate University in Wingate, N.C.

“It’s a huge relief because this is such a big week,” Plentl said. “Having so much in one week is such a great feeling. We have so much support from our teammates and our coaches.”