A month before the season, Eagan girls volleyball coach McKenna Melville welcomed Park transfer Mesa Jameson to a team that returned several starters from a 23-win state tournament season last year.

Melville expected the five-star sophomore prospect to be a big addition, but the answer of how big came from the first match. The 6-3 Jameson led the Wildcats with 13 kills and 12 digs in her debut in Tuesday’s three-set win at Stillwater.

Eagan’s moving up in the latest Strib Varsity Minnesota Top 25.

“She was obviously a talent that we embraced with open arms,” Melville said of Jameson. “She’s amazing. Just a blessing.”

The Minnesota Top 25

1. Lakeville South (2-0). Previous rank: 1

The defending Class 4A champs showed no sign of slowing down with straight-sets wins over Eden Prairie and Stewartville

2. Lakeville North (4-0). Previous rank: 2

The Panthers held off a solid East Ridge team for a 25-19, 25-18, 22-25, 26-24 road win Wednesday.

3. Eagan (3-0). Previous rank: 6

Super sophomore transfer Mesa Jameson teamed with Gophers recruit Madi Kraft to take down Stillwater on Tuesday.

4. East Ridge (3-1). Previous rank: 5

The Raptors opened with wins against Prior Lake, Wayzata and Rosemount, but ran into state title contender Lakeville South.

5. Prior Lake (2-1). Previous rank: 4

The Lakers lost to East Ridge 3-1 in the opener but beat Northfield and Chaska.

6. Marshall (5-0). Previous rank: 7

The Cardinals picked up where they left off last season with big wins vs. Chanhassen and Willmar in straight sets.

7. Chanhassen (2-1). Previous rank: 9

The Storm fell to Marshall in the opener, but their bounce-back included an upset win vs. Maple Grove.

8. Maple Grove (1-1). Previous rank: 3

The Crimson regrouped from an opening five-set loss to Chanhassen with a sweep of St. Michael-Albertville on Aug. 26.

9. Delano (3-0). Previous rank: 8

The Tigers opened the season with wins against Watertown-Mayer, Orono and Monticello.

10. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (3-0). Previous rank: 25

The Red Knights are one of the state’s biggest surprises, especially because of wins over Centennial and Southwest Christian.

11. Centennial (3-1). Previous rank: 10

The Cougars getting swept by Benilde-St. Margaret’s was surprising, but they got back on a winning track.

12. Champlin Park (2-1). Previous rank: 15

The young team looked confident when it won a set against Lakeville South in a season-opening loss, so an upset of No. 13 Roseville was no shocker.

13. Roseville (2-1). Previous rank: 11

The Raiders picked up a couple of wins to open the season before falling to Champlin Park.

14. New Prague (3-0). Previous rank: 16

The Trojans opened the season with three victories while seven teams ranked ahead of them lost.

15. Rogers (3-0). Previous rank: 18

This is a talented group off to a hot start, which includes a win vs. Wayzata.

16. Willmar (3-1). Previous rank: 17

A loss to Marshall in a rematch of last season’s section final was tough to swallow, but the Cardinals turned around quickly.

17. Stewartville (4-1). Previous rank: 21

The Tigers started strong before a loss to No. 1 Lakeville South.

18. Hawley (1-0). Previous rank: 20

There’s more to come from the defending Class 2A champion once the schedule gets going.

19. Byron (4-0). Previous rank: unranked

The Bears are ranked sixth in Class 3A by the coaches association after opening with three victories.

20. Anoka (2-1). Previous rank: 12

Could a five-set loss to Armstrong be an early wakeup call?

21. Southwest Christian (2-2). Previous rank: unranked

A challenging early schedule resulted in losses to Eden Prairie and Chanhassen after a victory over No. 22 Chatfield.

22. Chatfield (3-1). Previous rank: 22

That loss to Southwest Christian was tough but was followed by three straight wins.

23. Mayer Lutheran (3-0). Previous rank: 23

The defending Class 1A champion opened with three wins, including at Chaska.

24. Minneota (3-0). Previous rank: 24

The Class 1A runner-up lost only one set in its three victories.

25. Cretin-Derham Hall (2-0). Previous rank: unranked

The Raiders’ best win so far was sweeping Mahtomedi, ranked 10th in Class 3A.