Jay Blankenau will be a PAOK player from next season. The “black and white” announced the acquisition of the Canadian international passer, to replace his compatriot, Timo Walls, for next year.
The 34-year-old played this season in the French Tourois Lille.
In detail, the announcement:
“PAOK and the men’s volleyball department announce the start of cooperation with the athlete, Jay Blankenau, for the 2023-2024 season.
Born in Canada on 27/09/1989, Jay Blankenau plays as a passer and is 194cm tall.
He took his first steps in volleyball in the 2009-10 season from the University of Calgary Dinos, winning the following season with his University the district championship.
In the 2013-14 season, he visited our country for the first time, on behalf of Niki Aeginiou, playing in the Volley League, in which he stood out with his talent.
In the 2015-16 season, he played in the Netherlands for Abiant Lycurgus Groningen, with whom he won the domestic treble (league, cup and super cup), while gaining his first ‘performances’ from European competitions, playing both in the CEV Cup , as well as in the CEV Challenge Cup.
In the 2016-17 season he moved to Germany, playing for SWD Powervolleys Duren in the Bundesliga.
The following season (2017-18) found him in Belgium on behalf of Noliko Maaseik, with whom he won the championship, while reaching the last 8 of Europe’s top club competition, the CEV Champions League.
In the 2018-19 campaign he again remained in Belgium, this time for VC Greenyard Maaseik, with whom he was again crowned champion, again playing in the CEV Champions League.
This was followed by a two-year stint in Turkey, playing for Arkas Spor, gaining even more appearances from the CEV Champions League.
In the 2021-22 season he played for Projekt Warszawa in Poland, while last year he played in France for Tourcoing Lille Metropole.
He is international and, in fact, a key ‘cog’ of Team Canada, with which he competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games, while he took third place in the World League in 2017.
Welcome to PAOK, Jay!
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
