When the State College Area High School Key Club students offer a night of volleyball, they mean it.

Tonight, the spikes, blocks and digs will continue until dawn during the Key Club’s 19th annual all-night volleyball tournament. The charity event benefits several organizations and projects, including the United Nations Childrens Fund’s The Eliminate Project, the Centre County Women’s Resource Center, State College Crop Walk and Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania.

Organized and run by 40 students, the tournament features 29 teams of six to nine players competing for 12 hours, starting at 8 p.m. About 260 youth will participate, as well as school staff members on one team.

To compete, each player had to raise at least $125. Overall, teams generated about $27,000. This year’s tournament will be dedicated to a longtime staff member who fell ill last fall and has been hospitalized at Hershey Medical Center for more than three months.

Check-in for the teams is 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the North Building, and the gym will be closed to visitors at 10:30 p.m.

Chris Rosenblum can be reached at 231-4620.