Canadian middle blocker Jackson Howe has paired unusual vertical reach with elite blocking production throughout his rise from Trinity Western University to European professional volleyball. A former university standout with a recorded 12-foot-3.5-inch spike touch, he finished the 2026 Volleyball Nations League atop the men’s blocking chart with 45 winning blocks before joining Cucine Lube Civitanova for his first season in the Italian SuperLega.
Born on June 16, 1998, in Calgary, Howe developed through Canadian university volleyball before spending three seasons with Alterna Stade Poitevin in France and one with SVG Lüneburg in Germany. His Lüneburg season brought the first German Cup in club history, a Bundesliga runner-up finish and a CEV Cup final, while his international career with Canada has included consecutive Pan American Cup titles in 2023 and 2024 and a NORCECA silver medal in 2026.
Player Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Jackson Howe |
| Date of Birth | June 16, 1998 |
| Place of Birth | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Position | Middle Blocker |
| Height | 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb) |
| Spike Reach | 375 cm |
| Dominant Hand | Right |
| Current Club | Cucine Lube Civitanova |
| Club Number | 17 |
| National Team | Canada Men’s National Volleyball Team |
| National-Team Number | 17 in 2026 |
| Higher Education | Trinity Western University |
| Previous Clubs | Trinity Western University, Alterna Stade Poitevin, SVG Lüneburg |
| @jc_howe |
Lube’s current profile lists Howe at 200 cm and confirms both number 17 and his official Instagram handle. Volleyball World used 198 cm during the 2026 VNL, while secondary player records list 95 kg, a 375 cm spike reach and a right-handed attacking profile. The 375 cm figure is also consistent with Trinity Western’s measurement of his university-record 12-foot-3.5-inch spike touch.
Early Life & Volleyball Beginnings
Howe grew up in Calgary and attended Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School. His athletic background was not limited to volleyball. Trinity Western later recalled that he was an accomplished high-school basketball player and won a Grade 12 dunk contest with a 360-degree windmill dunk, an early demonstration of the explosive jumping ability that would become one of his most recognizable volleyball traits.
That athleticism immediately caught the attention of Trinity Western head coach Ben Josephson. During Howe’s university career, his spike touch reached 12 feet 3.5 inches — approximately 375 cm — which Trinity Western described as a program record. For a middle blocker who has generally been listed around two metres rather than among the very tallest players at the position, that vertical range became an important physical advantage.
Howe also shared much of his university experience with his twin sister Hilary, herself a standout Trinity Western volleyball player who later played professionally and represented Canada internationally. The siblings lived together through much of Jackson’s time at university, and the competitive environment within the family was a recurring part of Trinity Western’s account of his development.
By his final university season in 2021–22, Howe had become one of Canada’s leading collegiate middles. He averaged 2.18 kills per set while hitting .485 and earned Canada West Second Team All-Star recognition. More importantly for his team, his five seasons at Trinity Western included three Canada West championships and the 2019 U SPORTS national title.
His transition from university volleyball to the professional game came in 2022, when he signed with Alterna Stade Poitevin in France’s top division.
Club Career
Howe’s professional progression has been unusually linear in competitive level. He moved from one of Canada’s strongest university programs into France, then used a title-winning year in Germany to earn a move to one of Italian volleyball’s most decorated clubs.
Trinity Western and a Championship Foundation
Howe played for Trinity Western from 2017 to 2022. The period established both the physical profile and the blocking identity that would later define him internationally.
The Spartans won Canada West in 2017–18, 2019–20 and 2021–22, while the 2018–19 team captured the U SPORTS national championship. Howe was part of the championship all-tournament group as Trinity Western beat Brandon in the national final, playing alongside future Canadian internationals who would later appear across European professional leagues.
His final university season also showed how efficiently he could score as a middle. The .485 hitting percentage he produced in 2021–22 came with more than two kills per set, helping establish him as more than an athlete whose value depended only on blocking.
By the summer of 2022, Howe was simultaneously moving into professional volleyball and becoming a more regular presence in Canada’s international program.
Three Seasons in Poitiers
Alterna Stade Poitevin signed Howe for the 2022–23 season, beginning a three-year stay in France.
The move required him to adjust from university volleyball to a full professional schedule, something Howe later identified as an important stage in learning the physical and mental routine of being a professional athlete. Lube’s 2026 interview with him described France as the league where he learned the demands of professional life on a daily basis.
His role and results grew across the three seasons. Poitiers reached the French Cup semifinals in both 2022–23 and 2023–24 before emerging as a genuine championship contender in Howe’s final year. The club reached the 2024–25 French league final and finished runner-up to Tours.
There were also individual matches that foreshadowed his later international blocking numbers. During the 2023–24 French season, Howe produced an 18-point performance that included nine blocks, an unusually high single-match total for a middle blocker.
By the end of his third French season, Howe had completed the progression from university prospect to a starting middle on a national finalist. His next move took him to Germany.
Lüneburg: First Professional Trophy and Three Finals
Howe joined SVG Lüneburg for 2025–26, and the single season became his most successful professional club campaign to that point.
The first breakthrough came in the German Cup. Lüneburg defeated VfB Friedrichshafen 3–2 in the final before a record crowd of 12,508 in Mannheim, securing the first major title in SVG history. Howe started the match aggressively, scoring through the middle before immediately adding an ace. He finished with nine successful attacks from 14 attempts, a 64% attacking rate, as Lüneburg finally won the cup after several previous final defeats.
The season became even broader than that trophy. Lüneburg reached the Bundesliga championship final and finished runner-up, while its European campaign moved from the Champions League into the CEV Cup. There, Howe encountered former club Poitiers in the quarterfinals. Lüneburg won the tie and continued through Greenyard Maaseik to reach the CEV Cup final against Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza.
Piacenza won both final legs, leaving Lüneburg with European silver. Even so, Howe completed the season having reached three major finals: the German Cup, Bundesliga and CEV Cup.
His personal progression was equally important. Lube’s transfer announcement identified him as the Bundesliga’s leading blocker for the season, while his performances for Canada during the subsequent VNL made him increasingly visible internationally.
Howe had initially been expected to remain in Lüneburg. That plan changed when a larger European opportunity emerged. SVG publicly confirmed in July 2026 that he was leaving for a club with extensive national and continental success, with head coach Stefan Hübner acknowledging that the opportunity represented a major career step for the Canadian.
The Move to Cucine Lube Civitanova
On July 10, 2026, Cucine Lube Civitanova confirmed Howe as a new middle blocker for the 2026–27 SuperLega season.
The Italian club’s announcement focused specifically on his timing and solidity at the net. At the moment Lube completed the transfer, Howe had already accumulated 33 VNL blocks through Canada’s first two competition weeks — ten more than the player then ranked second. He eventually extended that total to 45 and finished the preliminary phase at the top of the tournament’s blocking statistics.
For Howe, the transfer also created a reunion. Canadian outside hitter Eric Loeppky, his former Trinity Western teammate and long-time close friend, was already at Lube. Their paths had separated after university but converged again at both club and international level.
Howe said after signing that Canada had given him his technical foundations, France taught him the routines of professional volleyball, and Germany helped him play with greater freedom. Lube represented the next escalation: his first season in the Italian SuperLega and his first opportunity to establish himself with a club that regularly competes for domestic and European titles.
Club Career Timeline
| Seasons | Team | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2017–2022 | Trinity Western University | Canada |
| 2022–2025 | Alterna Stade Poitevin | France |
| 2025–2026 | SVG Lüneburg | Germany |
| 2026–Present | Cucine Lube Civitanova | Italy |
National Team Career
Howe’s Canadian national-team progression developed alongside the end of his university career. Rather than moving immediately into a fixed senior starting position, he accumulated experience across Canada’s NextGen and senior programs before establishing himself as one of the team’s most productive middles.
Pan American Breakthrough and the Move into VNL
The 2021 Pan American Cup provided an early indication of Howe’s international blocking level.
Canada finished with silver, while Howe was selected as the tournament’s First Middle Blocker. NORCECA’s final statistics credited him with 27 blocks, the highest total in the competition.
His senior international profile expanded considerably during the 2022 Volleyball Nations League. Through his first 11 matches, Trinity Western reported that Howe was Canada’s leading scorer among middle blockers and fourth overall on the team. He eventually completed the tournament with 60 points, including 45 attacks, 13 blocks and two aces.
The tournament coincided with his move to Poitiers and marked the point where Howe’s professional and international careers began developing in parallel.
Back-to-Back Pan American Cup Titles
Canada’s NextGen group won the 2023 Pan American Cup, defeating Brazil 3–1 in Guadalajara for the country’s first men’s gold medal in the history of the tournament. Howe was part of the championship roster.
Canada repeated the result in 2024.
The second title came with a 3–1 victory over the United States in Santo Domingo. Howe again featured in the squad and received individual recognition as the tournament’s Second-Best Blocker. The title was notable in another respect: while Canada’s Olympic squad was preparing to compete in Paris, Howe remained with the NextGen group, continuing to build his international résumé rather than being part of the final Olympic roster.
Those summers kept him within Canada’s broader national-team structure, and by 2026 his role had moved decisively into the senior group.
The 2026 VNL Blocking Lead
The 2026 Volleyball Nations League became the most individually distinctive tournament of Howe’s international career.
Across 12 matches, he scored 135 points: 83 in attack, 45 from blocks and seven from serves. The 45 blocks were the highest total by any player in the men’s competition, placing him first in Volleyball World’s official blocking rankings at an average of 3.75 winning blocks per match.
His blocking production was striking for its consistency. Howe registered five blocks against Germany, five against Ukraine, five against Bulgaria and another five against Japan. Against the United States and France he recorded four each.
The Japan match also showed that his value was not confined to blocking. Howe finished with 17 points, converting 12 of 13 attacking attempts while adding five blocks. The 92.31% attack success rate for that match illustrates the combination that made his VNL especially effective: he could score rapidly in the middle while still producing direct points at the net defensively.
Canada struggled for results as a team during the VNL, but Howe’s individual tournament substantially raised his European profile. Lube announced his signing before the competition had even finished, identifying his blocking as one of the primary reasons for the move.
NORCECA Silver and the Road Toward Los Angeles 2028
Howe remained with Canada’s senior team for the 2026 NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship in Moncton.
Canada reached the final after winning its pool and defeating Cuba in the semifinal, securing a berth in the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in the process. The United States then defeated Canada in a five-set championship match, giving the hosts the silver medal.
Howe scored 45 points across seven appearances during the broader NORCECA competition period, with 30 attacks, 12 blocks and three aces. His attack figure was recorded at 66.67%.
Canada’s September schedule continued immediately into the regional Olympic qualification tournament. Howe scored 10 points, including three aces, in the semifinal victory over Mexico that put Canada one win from the Los Angeles 2028 berth. Cuba won the deciding match 3–1, taking NORCECA’s continental Olympic place. Volleyball Canada stressed after the loss that Canada’s Olympic qualification path had become more difficult, rather than ending entirely.
By the end of the summer, Howe had gone from a productive Canadian middle to one of the most statistically prominent blockers in international volleyball.
Playing Style & Strengths
Howe’s playing style starts with an unusual physical combination for a middle blocker: elite vertical reach, lateral speed and increasingly refined blocking reads. In his first interview after joining Lube, Howe himself identified athleticism, speed and reading the game among his principal strengths, adding that he plays aggressively at the net in both blocking and transition situations.
The vertical component is measurable. Trinity Western recorded a 12-foot-3.5-inch spike touch — about 375 cm — the highest in the program’s history. That gives Howe a contact point more typical of significantly taller elite middles and helps explain how a player currently listed at 200 cm can remain effective against international attackers with greater standing height.
Blocking, however, is more than a product of jumping ability. His 45 stuffs in the 2026 VNL came across a range of opponents and offensive systems, and Lube’s own scouting description emphasized timing as much as physicality. The repetition of four- and five-block matches across the tournament suggests value in reading setter tendencies and closing space rather than depending on isolated highlight plays.
His attacking efficiency is equally important because Canada does not need to sacrifice quick-attack production to keep that blocking presence on court. Howe scored 83 VNL attack points at 64.34%, including the 12-of-13 performance against Japan. The pattern continues back through his university career, when he hit .485 during his final season at Trinity Western.
He can also contribute from the service line. Serving is not the statistical centerpiece of his game, but Howe produced seven VNL aces in 2026, opened the German Cup final with an early ace and delivered three in Canada’s Olympic-qualification semifinal against Mexico.
Taken together, the evidence points to a modern, mobile middle whose strongest advantage is the overlap between athletic range and increasingly disciplined decision-making at the net. His move to Lube will test whether those traits translate from high-volume international involvement and the Bundesliga into the tactical and technical demands of the SuperLega.
Major Achievements
Selected National Team Honors
| Year | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship | Silver Medal |
| 2024 | Men’s Pan American Cup | Gold Medal |
| 2023 | Men’s Pan American Cup | Gold Medal |
| 2021 | NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship | Silver Medal |
| 2021 | Men’s Pan American Cup | Silver Medal |
The consecutive Pan American Cup victories in 2023 and 2024 were Canada’s first two men’s titles in the competition, while the 2026 NORCECA silver placed Howe on another senior continental podium.
Selected Club Honors
| Season | Competition | Result | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | German Cup | Winner | SVG Lüneburg |
| 2025–26 | CEV Cup | Runner-up | SVG Lüneburg |
| 2025–26 | German Championship | Runner-up | SVG Lüneburg |
| 2024–25 | French Championship | Runner-up | Alterna Stade Poitevin |
| 2021–22 | Canada West Championship | Winner | Trinity Western University |
| 2019–20 | Canada West Championship | Winner | Trinity Western University |
| 2018–19 | U SPORTS Championship | Winner | Trinity Western University |
| 2017–18 | Canada West Championship | Winner | Trinity Western University |
Lüneburg’s German Cup triumph was particularly significant because it was the first major title in the club’s history.
Selected Individual Awards & Distinctions
| Year / Season | Competition | Award / Distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Volleyball Nations League | Led all players with 45 winning blocks |
| 2025–26 | German Bundesliga | Best Blocker |
| 2024 | Men’s Pan American Cup | Second-Best Blocker |
| 2021–22 | Canada West | Second Team All-Star |
| 2021 | Men’s Pan American Cup | First Middle Blocker |
| 2021 | Men’s Pan American Cup | Tournament-high 27 blocks |
Howe’s 2026 VNL recognition is a statistical distinction rather than a separate tournament Dream Team award: Volleyball World’s final blocking chart lists him first with 45 stuff blocks.
Family & Life Away from Volleyball
Howe’s twin sister Hilary also followed an elite volleyball path. Both attended Trinity Western, and Jackson has described living with his sister for much of university as one of the most important parts of his experience there. Hilary became a professional player and Canadian international after her own successful TWU career.
Competitive sport has remained part of Howe’s life beyond volleyball. His high-school basketball background included the 360-degree windmill dunk that hinted at his exceptional vertical ability, and he also played hockey when younger. His attachment to jersey number 17 dates back to his under-14 years and extended to hockey before becoming his number with Canada and, now, Lube.
Away from competition, Howe told Lube that he enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, playing cards and exploring new places. He also described himself as drawn to activities with a competitive element, which fits the multi-sport background that preceded his professional volleyball career.
Where Is Jackson Howe Playing Now?
As of October 2026, Jackson Howe plays for Cucine Lube Civitanova in the Italian SuperLega and wears number 17. Lube’s current roster lists him alongside middle blockers Giovanni Maria Gargiulo, Alberto Polo and Antonin Klimes.
He joined the club in July after one season with SVG Lüneburg. The transfer followed a German campaign in which Howe won the national cup and reached both the Bundesliga and CEV Cup finals, then immediately produced the best blocking total of the 2026 VNL.
Howe arrived in Civitanova after completing Canada’s September international schedule. He helped Canada win NORCECA silver and qualify for the 2027 Men’s World Cup, although the team subsequently lost its regional Los Angeles 2028 qualification final to Cuba.
By early October he had already appeared in Lube’s preseason program, including a straight-set friendly win over Cisterna. Howe said his existing friendship with former Trinity Western teammate Eric Loeppky had helped him settle quickly into the club environment.
Recent Performance Snapshot
2026 Volleyball Nations League — Canada
| Statistic | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 12 |
| Total Points | 135 |
| Attack Points | 83 |
| Attack Success | 64.34% |
| Block Points | 45 |
| Blocks Per Match | 3.75 |
| Service Aces | 7 |
| VNL Blocking Rank | 1st |
Howe’s 45 winning blocks were four more than Türkiye’s Bedirhan Bulbul, who finished second in Volleyball World’s final blocking table. The tournament was also Howe’s highest-scoring VNL campaign to date.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Jackson Howe?
Jackson Howe was born on June 16, 1998, in Calgary, Alberta. He is 28 years old as of October 2026.
How tall is Jackson Howe?
Cucine Lube Civitanova lists Howe at 200 cm, approximately 6 ft 7 in. Volleyball World used a 198 cm listing during the 2026 international season.
What position does Jackson Howe play?
Howe plays as a middle blocker. His strongest documented traits are blocking, quick attacking, speed and exceptional vertical reach.
Which club does Jackson Howe play for?
Howe plays for Cucine Lube Civitanova in Italy’s SuperLega. He joined Lube from SVG Lüneburg for the 2026–27 season.
What number does Jackson Howe wear?
Howe wears number 17 for Lube and wore the same number for Canada during the 2026 VNL and NORCECA season. He has said that he has used number 17 since his under-14 years.
What did Jackson Howe achieve in the 2026 VNL?
Howe finished the 2026 VNL with 45 winning blocks, the highest total in the men’s competition. He also scored 83 attack points and seven aces for 135 total points across 12 matches.
Does Jackson Howe have a sibling who plays volleyball?
Yes. His twin sister Hilary also played volleyball at Trinity Western, competed professionally and represented Canada internationally.
References
- Lube Volley — Jackson Howe official 2026–27 player profile
- Lube Volley — Jackson Howe signs with Cucine Lube Civitanova
- Lube Volley — Jackson Howe interview after joining Lube
- Volleyball World — Jackson Howe 2026 VNL player profile and statistics
- Volleyball World — 2026 VNL men’s best blockers statistics
- Volleyball Canada — Jackson Howe athlete profile
- Trinity Western University — Spartan Spotlight: Jackson Howe
- Trinity Western University — Jackson Howe signs with Stade Poitevin Volley
- Deutscher Volleyball-Verband — SVG Lüneburg wins the 2026 German Cup
- SVG Lüneburg — Jackson Howe departs after the 2025–26 season
- Volleyball Canada — Canada wins the 2024 Pan American Cup
- Volleyball Canada — Canada earns silver at the 2026 NORCECA Championship
- NORCECA — 2021 Men’s Pan American Cup final statistics and individual awards
- Volleybox — Jackson Howe player profile
