Mount Royal University alumnus Jay Blankenau has been named to Canada's men's volleyball team to compete at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. 

Blankenau, a 31-year-old Sherwood Park, Alta. native, played two seasons for Mount Royal between 2007 and 2009. In his first season with the Cougars, Blankenau led Mount Royal to a CCAA national championship, defeating UBC Okanagan 3-0 in the finals to capture gold. 

In his third season, Blankenau transferred to the University of Calgary where he became a perennial all-star. After his collegiate career, he moved to the Canada Volleyball Full Time Training Centre to hone his skills and begin his international career. Blankenau began as a part of the FISU National Team before working his way up to the FIVB World Volleyball league. In 2016, Blankenau earned a spot on Team Canada's Olympic roster and competed in Rio with the team finishing in fifth place overall. 

"On behalf of myself and Mount Royal, I would like to extend my congratulations to Jay. We are exceptionally proud of him," Shawn Sky, Cougars Men's Volleyball Coach said. "Jay continues to represent MRU and the game of volleyball at the highest level and we wish him the best of luck in Tokyo." 

After completing a month-long Volleyball Nations League tournament in Italy with five wins in a row, and finishing eighth overall, Team Canada has one more training camp in Turkey before heading to Tokyo for their second Olympic appearance in a row after a 24-year absence. Of the 12-man roster, seven members, including Blankenau, have competed at an Olympic Games. 

Team Canada is in Pool A and plays its first match on July 24 (Day 1) against Italy. Men's volleyball wraps up on August 7 (Day 15) with the bronze and gold medal matches. Volleyball will take place at the Ariake Arena.