Education
He attended Pepperdine University where he was an All-American and guided The Waves to a National Volleyball Championship in 1992 as a sophomore.
volleyball player beach volleyball player
He attended Pepperdine University where he was an All-American and guided The Waves to a National Volleyball Championship in 1992 as a sophomore.
Blanton was also an All-State Basketball player who led Laguna Beach to the CIF Finals in 1990. He is known for his fast serve holding the Avon Products record for 11 aces in a single game to 15 in Vail, Colorado in 1997. After winning gold at the 2000 Olympics, Blanton and Fonoimoana broke their partnership because of rule changes that went into effect in 2001.
(Rally or Point per Play scoring as opposed to having to traditional Serve to Score a point.
Court size changed from 30x30 feet per side to 8x8 meters). Height became a deciding factor because the new rules provided an advantage for a full-time tall blocker at the Netto.
They went separate ways in search of Big Blockers. In the 2004 Olympics, Blanton and Nygaard were seeded eighth, but failed to advance out of pool play.
Currently Dain is the Analyst for Professional Beach Volleyball worldwide covering the FIVB (Federation of International Volleyball), Avon Products, NVL (National Volleyball League, and the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series as well as the Sideline Reporter for the National Basketball Association Los Angeles Clippers.
His new career in Sports Broadcasting has involved working with American Broadcasting Company, National Broadcasting Company, Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, Fox Sports Net and Universal Sports Network. He is covering many sports including National Basketball Association, Beach Volleyball, MLB, College Basketball and College Football. Dain also does many motivational speaking events each year to inspire and be a role model to many.
Dain was the runner-up to Andrew Firestone on the third season of American Broadcasting Company television network reality show The Bachelor.