Valley High School students served up nearly 3,000 cans of food Friday as part of the school’s seventh annual Christmas Classic Volleyball Tournament.

“That’s amazing,” Salvation Army Capt. Phillip Davies said of the students’ efforts. “The need is so great at this time of the year. Our inventory of emergency food is deplenished. This will go to restock it and has the potential for helping families for the next couple of months with the amount that they’ve raised.”

The volleyball tournament in New Kensington was open to the entire school. To participate, each student had to bring in at least two cans of food, physical education teacher Aaron Smith said. In all, 2,796 cans were donated, according to Smith.

Students in ninth through 12th grades played in the tournament, while students in seventh and eighth grades were able to watch. A total of 11 teams with 10 players each participated.

Students were slated to play all day, with the winning team taking on a team of teachers for the tournament trophy.

Teachers had a surprise for the students — a check for $500, which also was given to the Salvation Army, said Jason Moore, a high school history and economics teacher and president of the New Kensington-Arnold Education Association.

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